Finger on the Trigger
by bookworm rider
Summary: Alex has just defeated Scorpia’s plan to kill thousands of school children. Scorpia never forgets…and they assign Yassen to kill Alex. But what will Y do when he realizes who his target is? This is a mission that Scorpia will not forgive Yassen for failin
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This assumes Yassen did not die at the end of Eagle Strike:**

**Note: Yassen was shot but not killed on Air Force One. He told Alex about his father, and passed out, not long before Scorpia retrieved Yassen and took him away before M16 got to him. **

_**­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­**_

_**YGPOV**_

"The only reason you're still alive, Mr Gregorovich, is because you're our best assassin. If anyone else had made your mistakes, they would be dead by now."

I looked up at Dr. Three, having tried my best to ignore him. I was at Scorpia's medical facility, forced to stay there until tomorrow, when my stiches would be removed. I'd hated my time here, though I was lucky to be alive. Scorpia had found me on the Air Force One, and took me here immediately. To my surprise, they had left Alex. If they'd known who he was, they would have killed him. However, almost as soon as I was conscious, Scorpia had been 'scolding' me for my mistakes, and Dr. Three was at it again.

"I believe Scorpia has been foiled by the same person who defeated Cray." I smiled to myself. "Alex Rider."

Dr. Three's face distorted with anger. "That was your fault. You lead the boy straight to us, telling him about his father. Don't deny it, he told Julia that himself."

"I am not denying anything. I had hoped he would join us, after finding out what M16 did to his father." My face darkened. "And he did, he trained. Yet Mrs. Rothman decided to try and kill him, though squashing her with an air balloon was something I was surprised to hear." My lips twitched, and then sighed in regret. I would have wanted to have trained Alex myself, like working with his father again.

"He went back to M16 and betrayed us. It destroyed our mission, and almost destroyed Scorpia."

"Then you agree, it wasn't my fault. And besides, he's young, he found out you were planning to kill thousands of children, some of his friends included. And that you'd injected him with the same stuff." I replied, cornering him.

He eyes narrowed, and then he sighed. "He's a spy. He's caused us a lot of trouble, even before the 'Invisible Sword'. Mrs. Rothman knew he wasn't like his father. She made the right decision. He also thinks you're dead."

"Well, why wouldn't he, it certainly looked like I was." I said. I was sick of trying to explain myself, and began to ignore him again.

"The reason I came here, Yassen, is that I have a mission for you, and you will receive a very large sum of money if you succeed. Consider it a way to redeem yourself."

I don't suppose the council would like it very much if I killed one of there members. I suppressed a sigh, and looked back at Dr. Three, my face blank.

"Who is it?"

Dr. Three laughed. "I'm surprised you didn't see where the conversation was going Yassen."

I stiffened as the truth sunk in, but my facial features remained emotionless.

"You want me to kill Alex Rider?"

**Sorry about how small this chapter was, but it kinda just set the story line. If you want the rest of the story...REVIEW!!!!!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: I probably should have mentioned this in the first chapter, but Sabina did not leave at the end of Eagle Strike, her dad wanting to be somewhere familiar to heal.**

Alex cheered as Chelsea scored another goal, Sabina screaming her approval at his side. We both fell back into our seats, laughing.

"Don't you dare miss that goal…What? Oh come on, you bloody son of a…!"

"Popcorn!" Jack yelled loudly, cutting off Sabina 'subtly.' Alex and Sabina laughed at her as they took a second bowl.

"Fancy watching the game with us Jack?" Alex said, smiling cheekily. He knew how much patience she had for British sports. Her eyes narrowed, taking in Alex's barely suppressed grin, Sabina giggling at his side.

"No thanks, I'd rather cook." She said, walking away. Alex was slightly surprised. There was nothing she hated more than cooking. As if she read his mind, Jack stopped at the doorway.

"Well, maybe not cooking…" she sighed, and left the room. Alex and Sabina laughed again and got back to the game. In the other room, she listened to them and sighed happily. She hadn't wanted to know the details about what happened after Venice, but he had told her about his father and his undercover work in Scorpia. She couldn't believe that he had been a spy, but if his brother had been, it must run in the family. M16 had decided it was Alex's turn, and Jack was worried sick about what it was doing to him. But now it all seemed to be behind him and his life had taken a turn for the best. He was happy, back at school and with Sabina constantly. She remembered the day Sabina had come to visit, a week after the Scorpia incident, after Alex had gone back to school.

***

_**Three weeks earlier…**_

There was a knock at the door, and Jack went to answer it. Alex looked warily towards it, turning away from the mirror where he had been inspecting the hand shaped bruise on his face. Its colour had begun to lighten, but it was still quite noticeable. Jack shivered at the thought of someone slapping Alex like that, but she tried not to think about his missions. She knew he suffered ten times worse than that, physically and emotionally.

Jack's eyes widened in surprise as the young Sabina Pleasure grinned at her.

"Is Alex here?" she asked.

"Sabina!" Alex exclaimed happily. He hadn't seen her a lot lately. Her dad was still in hospital after the Eagle Strike incident, and she had devoted herself to taking care of him.

Sabina turned her smile to Alex, but it abruptly faded. She stared with wide eyes at the hand shaped bruise on his face and the burns on his arms.

"Alex, you haven't been…" she whispered, not bothering to finish her sentence. He knew what she was talking about. Alex frowned, looking at the ground. There was a short, awkward pause.

"I'm sorry Sabina. I had no choice with this one."

"Why not, Alex? You've nearly been killed over and over again. Why would you want to go back to that world?

"An organization, not a good one," Alex explained, pointing to the bruise on his face, "had information about my dad, and my mum. I had to find out, Sab, but it turned out more dangerous than I planned."

Sympathy washed over Sabina's face. "I'm sorry, Alex, I didn't know. I would have done the same thing."

Alex smiled at her gratefully. "So what are you doing here Sab? I thought you were taking care of your dad."

"We took him home a few days ago, and mum's taken the reigns, and I decided to get out of the way for a while. You'll be seeing me a lot from now on."

Sabina smiled and walked in. Alex grinned. He wasn't complaining.

***

_**Present**_

Jack smiled again at the sound of Alex and Sabina cheering in the other room. It seemed there team was winning. Jack jumped at the sound of the doorbell. She looked at her watch and frowned. Who would be paying a visit at this hour? She suddenly got an uneasy feeling.

"I'll get it Jack." Alex said as she walked into the living room. "You've done enough. And besides…" he grinned, tapping at his watch and standing up. "It's half time." Little did Alex know he would not be watching the rest of the game.

"So you don't want to watch the cheerleaders Alex? Good, I wouldn't let you anyway." Sabina grinned and laughed.

Jack looked at the peaceful scene before her. She looked at Alex's happy and calm brown eyes, which usually looked serious and hard, thanks to M16. They'd forced him to go on horrible, life threatening missions, and he'd seen too much, much more than a fourteen year old should ever have to see. On impulse, Jack yelled, "Don't open the door Alex, please."

Alex and Sabina looked at Jack in surprise. "Why?" Alex asked, bewildered.

Jack bit her lip. "Because… I don't know, I just… what if it's M16, Alex! Look how happy you are, if it's them, they'll black mail you into another mission and you'll come back to me scarred, beaten and hurt, if you come back at all!"

There was a pause. "I don't want you to answer the door either, Alex." Sabina said quietly. Alex stared at the two of them in astonishment. The notion seemed ridiculous, yet he suddenly realised how much his assignments affected and hurt them. It was probably also due to how much he changed when he came back. Alex noticed it himself, and they must have to. Over the last few weeks, he had slowly turned back into the Alex he wanted to be. And the two girls didn't want that to be ruined. Suddenly, Alex didn't want to answer the door either.

Alex slowly sat back down on the coach. "I guess I'll be watching the cheerleaders after all." He said, grinning at Sabina cheekily. And bless her, she got back into the previous mood straight away.

"Not if I can help it. I'll blind you with popcorn if I have to!" She grinned, and threw a handful in his face. Alex laughed, and threw one back. She was about to throw the third bunch when the doorbell rung again, followed by a loud knock. We froze, glancing nervously at each other. A minute later, there was no more knocks or rings and the three of them relaxed; too soon.

Sabina screamed as a loud gunshot rang threw the air, and they heard the front door crash off its hinges. Who ever it was, he doubted it was M16, and they'd be in the living room any second. Alex acted very quickly.

He grabbed Sabina and threw her as gently as he could under the coach.

"Stay there and keep quiet." He growled at Sabina, standing up and shoving Jack into the kitchen.

"Hide or get out of here, Jack. And don't try and help, you'll get you _and_ me killed."

"Alex…" she whispered as the kitchen door swung shut.

I spun round just as the living room door burst opened. The person shot as soon as he came in. Alex had no time to act. He felt something hit his chest hard, and he fell to the ground without even realising it. The room spun and stars erupted in front of his eyes. He could just make out the sound of a girl screaming, and another door crashing open, but it all seemed quite far away. Alex closed his eyes as darkness engulfed him.

**Ha ha, hoped you liked it! I wouldn't have updated so soon if it wasn't for the extreme shortness of the first chapter... so REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW if you want chapter 3!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Please, please, please, ppl, give me a break with the changing views thing, ok, the rest of the story will be in THIRD PERSON! Sighs and btw, holding the next chapter hostage makes it more fun! Ha Ha hope u like this chapter.**

"Ladies and Gentleman, we hope you enjoyed the half time show! Please welcome back to the field….THE CHELSEA FOOTBALL TEAM!!!!!!!"

The crowd roared on the television, but Sabina didn't hear it, and realised she was screaming in anguish. All she could do was look at Alex's still body as it crashed to the ground. Jack had burst through the door as soon as she heard the shot and caught Alex before he hit his head, staring at the boy she secretly thought of as her son.

Sabina wriggled out from out of the coach, both girls uncaring if they got shot themselves. This was Alex, they needed to help him. They didn't even glance at the man who shot him.

"Alex! Alex, please." Jack yelled, her eyes filling with tears.

"Alex? Wake up, it's Sabina, come on, Alex…? Sabina whispered.

Alex's eyes were closed, his head lolled back in Jack's arms, his face completely drained of colour.

"Wait...he's… not even bleeding." Jack said incredulously.

"He's got a pulse!" Sabina yelled, laughing happily, slightly hysteric. For the first time, they really inspected the wound. His chest had something red sticking out of it. Her hands shaking slightly, Jack grabbed hold of it and pulled. Alex grunted slightly, but his eyes didn't open. Jack inspected it before Sabina shivered in disgust.

"Tranquiliser." She whispered. For the first time they looked reluctantly up at the attacker.

"Don't worry; it will wear off in about…" the man looked at his watch. "Three minuets." He finished, speaking with a strange foreign accent.

"That was bloody stupid you know. And you did that on purpose." Sabina looked up in shock as three more men walked up behind the first one. The man who just spoke had a Scottish accent.

The first man shrugged with a small smile playing on his lips.

"And besides, he'll probably be awake in two minutes, considering who he is, a bloody super spy these days I've heard." The third man laughed.

"Who the heck are you?" Sabina growled, glaring daggers at the four men towering over her.

They smiled. "All in good time. We don't want to explain it twice, now do we?" The last man said.

"So who are you, his girlfriend?" The third man laughed.

Sabina blushed, but soon forgot it as Alex began to stir. He groaned, and his eye flickered open.

"Ouch." He gasped, grabbing his chest in panic. He spied the red dart in someone's hand a groaned, but knew he should be grateful. He thought he was finished.

"Alex, are you ok?" Jack choked.

Suddenly he sprang up. "Are _you_ two ok? What happened?"

"Hello Cub."

Alex froze, reluctantly looking at the four men in front of him. No, not them, anyone but them, and here they were beaming after what they but him through!

"WHAT are you four bloody doing here?"

"Ohhh someone's grown a bit feistier since the last time I saw them." Fox chuckled.

"Yea, what happened to composed boy from training camp?" Snake laughed.

Alex groaned again and stood up, leaving Sabina and Jack looking up in surprise. Jack saw that he looked unwilling but recognition flickered in his eyes. Due to all the experience he had there was little surprise on his face. Jack scowled. It was as if Alex had been expecting for something to ruin his happiness, as if accepting that this would always be happening to him. No, if nothing else, she would always remind him that he had the right to be surprised… had the right to think that maybe, just maybe a fourteen year old can be normal.

"Cub…? Wait, does that mean that this is…?" Sabina begun, eyes widening in recognition, remembering Alex explaining to her that he'd trained with the SAS before he became a spy.

"Yes. Sabina, Jack, I'd like you to meet K unit; Wolf, Eagle, Fox and Snake.

"Interesting names." Sabina muttered, still glaring at Wolf.

"So, who shot me?" Alex sighed. "It was Wolf, wasn't it?"

"Yea, it was him. I think he's still steaming about getting shot on Point Blanc while you left healthy as a horse." Eagle laughed, but then stopped. "Maybe not completely healthy." He muttered, remembering Wolf telling him about the mission when he visited him in hospital after being shot. Alex had been hurt trying to escape from Point Blanc but still returned to save the captives.

"_I've…never seen anything like it, Eagle."_ Wolf had said, who would never have said something like that about Alex if it wasn't for the painkillers he was chucking. _"His eyes darkened, he walked out into the snow and took the helicopter down like it was something he did everyday. He's better than the people I work with. He's amazing."_

Eagle knew that he remembered, but Wolf didn't mention it, and would deny praising the boy if he did.

"Hold on, you told the girl about us?" Fox asked incredulously.

Alex immediately turned apprehensive. "Well….umm, funny story actually…"

"Oh, Cub, come on, we're classified." Snake sighed.

"I should have shot you with a real gun! How could you tell a _civilian_ about us! Do you realise what you've…"

"I wonder what Mr. Blunt would say if I told him you shot me with a tranquiliser without any _actual_ reason." Alex interrupted Wolf mid rant, smiling softly.

Wolf stiffened, and held up his arms. "Hey, I was following orders. That's why we're here, Cub. If you didn't answer the door then we were told to break in and make sure you were ok, and knock any enemy out without hesitation."

"I don't think you needed to shoot _me_ Wolf. But what's going on, why wouldn't I be ok? Alex felt his heart sink. M16 were dragging him into their world again. Maybe this was just another trick to get him to do what they want. But despite the fact that wolf and come in here firing guns, K unit had still come, and with a reason.

"Well…" Eagle shot a glance towards Sabina and Jack, who were now standing up, looking shaken but strong.

"We're not saying anything in front of them. Is there somewhere we can talk Cub?" Wolf said, frowning towards the girls.

"If I'm in danger, it involves them to. We can talk right here." Alex said firmly. Sabina shot him a grin.

"Cub…"

"No, Wolf."

"We have orders, Cub; we are to talk to you and only you."

"They're family and they know that I'm a spy."

"They're not your family, Cub."

"You're right, Wolf," Alex said, his voice icy cold, meeting Wolf's gaze with suppressed pain in his eyes. "All my family are dead."

Wolf's face faltered in regret as he felt a rush of pure sympathy towards the boy. He'd basically forced the words out of Cub's mouth.

"Nice one, Wolf." Eagle muttered. Fox and Snake watched sadly.

"Cub…I'm…well, I didn't mean…"

Alex sighed and smiled. "Don't hurt yourself Wolf." The rest of K Unit laughed, but Wolf glared.

"Now Wolf, what's happening?" Alex smiled mockingly.

Wolf shot one more apprehensive glance at the two girls, and sighed. "Alright Cub, have it your way. Last night, M16 received a transmission from one of their agents who was working undercover as a secretary for Scorpia."

Alex shivered involuntary. One month previous, he had joined Scorpia after receiving false information that M16 killed his father. He trained with them, unknowing to the fact that he had been injected with the same stuff that would kill thousands of children. He stopped their plans, but not without almost being killed, and with horrible memories of Scorpia; Sabotage, corruption, intelligence and assassination.

Eagle continued, watching Alex warily. He'd heard what had happened to him on that mission, and could still see almost healed burns on his arms. "She sent a transmission telling us that an assassination of an M16 agent was going to occur, and would try and find out who it was. Her last transmission was made up of just two words."

Alex felt a shiver run through him. He had a good idea of what those two words were. "Last transmission…you mean she's…" Alex couldn't finish.

Wolf nodded. "Sorry Cub, but we think her cover was blown, and… you know Scorpia." He said sadly.

"I do." Alex whispered, in a daze; it seemed weeks ago that he was sitting on the coach and laughing with Sabina.

"And…the two words…" Alex asked quietly, but knowing the answer already.

K Unit looked briefly at each other.

"Alex Rider." Wolf confirmed. The men, Sabina and Jack watched Alex carefully. He didn't look surprised, but there was a strange sort of sadness in his eyes…like he lost something important to him. Jack felt anger rush through her; how could someone do this to a fourteen year old boy? Only she and perhaps Sabina knew what Alex had lost. But the sadness vanished into acceptance as quick as it came. He nodded, and barely two seconds had passed.

"Do we know who the assassin is going to be?" Alex asked.

Snake shook his head. "We only know that it's a major assassination, so it will probably be one of their best. You've caused a lot of trouble lately, haven't you Cub?" Snake laughed. "And I think they've begun to see that they can't underestimate you anymore."

"If they came to kill me, why didn't you come in with real guns?"

Eagle shrugged. "M16 wants to question the assassin, and fast before they could send someone else, so we plan to use tranquilisers that knock a person out for five minutes. Then we'd act fast, tie them up, and if they turned violent on us we have stronger stuff at hand. And these babies have two gun holes, one for tranquilisers and one for bullets. Good old Smithers…we're not taking any chances with this one Cub.

"When will they attack?"

Wold answered. "We don't know, but it'll be soon. That's why, I had to, um, come in with such urgency and…

"Shut up, Wolf."

Wolf frowned, but then was suddenly trying to fight a smile; probably imagining Alex's face as he fell to the ground."

"So what are we going to do?" Alex asked.

"We'll be stationed at all points of the house. No one will be able to get in or out without us knowing, and four more M16 agents will come to swap shifts." Fox replied.

"What I don't get is why you guys are all together?" Alex inquired."

Wolf shrugged. "They know you're not, well, exactly happy with M16 right now so Blunt sent someone you could trust."

Alex snorted. "Yea, I can see that, people who I can trust to guard me, and, I don't know, not SHOOT me."

Everyone laughed, the humour dissolving the tension in the room.

Alex's sighed, the smile leaving his face as soon as it had come. He turned to Sabina and Jack. "You two have to leave until this blows over."

"No bloody way Alex." Sabina growled.

"Absolutely not, Alex, I'm always here for you and that's not going to change." Jack pressed.

"Guys, I just stopped Scorpia from killing thousands of school children, Sabina and me included. That's why I came back so beat up, that was _them_. Evil is an understatement for these people. Sabina, cutting off your fingers would be kind of them. Please, take Jack and go home. I'll call you when the threat has passed."

"Alex…"

"No, if…this person gets through, I'll have to protect myself, and I can't do that if I have to worry about you two; please, just listen to me this once."

The two girls stared at Alex with pain clear in their eyes. "My parents wouldn't mind if Jack stayed with me for a while." Sabina whispered.

"Alex." Jack ran the short distance between them and grabbed Alex in a bone crushing hug, not wanting to ever let him go. She'd cared for him since he was seven, and couldn't bear leaving him.

"Jack…well, it looks like Scorpia's job has been done for them, I'm already being suffocated to death."

Jack laughed through a sob, and let him go, taking a step back.

"You two better get going as soon as possible. We need to check the place for planted bombs and bugs." Eagle said.

Jack nodded, and Sabina looked at Alex. She said nothing, and Alex stared sadly into her eyes. Suddenly, she walked up to him and kissed him full on the lips, wrapping her arms around his neck. Alex kissed her back for a moment before she broke away and ran out the door. Jack looked at Alex once more before following her out. Alex stared after them.

Someone cleared their throat. Alex looked around at K Unit, his face emotionless. "Umm, we're going to check the house and start our first shift outside." Fox said to Alex, surveying him glumly. Alex nodded.

"We'll check the perimeter first." Wolf said, signalling for the unit to leave. K Unit walked out the door, throwing Alex a look of either encouragement or sympathy or both. Wolf stopped at the door, looking at Alex, who stared back.

"Look, don't worry Cub. I know you're more concerned about your friends leaving than your own safety, which is weird, but, I guess it's a lot like you. Don't worry, we'll catch this guy, and they'll be back in no time. You did the right thing in sending them away."

Alex smiled at wolf, knowing it was hard for him to say this to him. He was about to leave, when he turned. "Oh, and by the way, nice work with Sabina." he said. Alex blushed, and Wolf laughed at him, but Alex knew he was also laughing at himself. He finally left and closed the door behind him.

When he got outside Wolf turned to K Unit. They were all silent.

"Wow, he's really changed. Can you believe we used to call him double 0 nothing? I think double 07 might have been spot on." Snake said.

"I know what you mean. He was a little scary; I wouldn't cross him for a million dollars." Fox shuddered.

"Yea, I'm starting to regret making fun of him, he switched sides once…yea, I know, he wouldn't again…man that kid is cool, he'd be awesome to be friends with." Eagle laughed.

"Guys, he's only fourteen, you're talking like he's the best spy in the world."

"Wolf, he is, and something tells me that you agree to." Eagle smiled and raised his eyebrows. "Don't you remember…"

"Let's get to work! Check the perimeter." Wolf cut off Eagle quickly.

They spread out, and Wolf looked back at the house. What caught him about Alex the most was his eyes; brown and serious, like he'd seen too much…

Inside, Alex sat on the coach, head in his hands, staring at the floor. How did this happen? What was the time limit for being a normal fourteen year old? The house was quiet. No laughing Sabina, no eccentric Jack making up yet another strange dish. He had never felt so alone in his life.

"AND CHELSEA WINS!!!!!!"

Alex looked up at the T.V, watching snap shots of the cheering crowd. He turned it off. Suddenly he couldn't care less.

**MAN DID I HAVE YOU FOOLED! **************** You all thought it was Yassen crashing through the door! For all Yassen fans (all of you!) he'll be making an appearance very soon! Come on, we all love K UNIT! So that's chapter 3, hope you liked it, and thanks to everyone who reviewed… to those who didn't grrrr – jokes! Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Here's chapter 4 of FINGER ON THE TRIGGER, and our fav assassin just might be making an appearance…. **

Mrs. Jones walked into the office, slipping a peppermint into her mouth. She glared at Mr. Blunt until he finally acknowledged her presence.

"I'm sorry, Alan, but we have to tell Alex… he needs to be prepared. If _he's _the assassin after Alex, then four agents will be no where near enough! We need to get Alex out of there, and K Unit, because however skilled they are, they cannot possibly be prepared for…"

"Mrs. Jones, if Yassen Gregorovich is indeed alive, which I highly doubt, then Alex Rider has nothing to worry about."

"You highly doubt? His body was never found, Alan. He is, or was, the best assassin Scorpia had!"

"He was shot in the chest. Even if Scorpia retrieved him, the chances are quite small that he survived. And besides, Yassen had countless chances to kill Alex, but he didn't. The friendship between John Rider and Yassen Gregorovich has given the assassin a strange connection to the boy. He will not kill Alex.

"Alan, that was then, but if he is alive, then Scorpia is not happy with him. It makes perfect sense that they would give him this assignment. Alex is at the top of the hit list. If he fails, Yassen pays with his life. Its kill or be killed. Which option do you think he will choose, considering his profession?"

"I'm not going to unnecessarily worry Alex when the chances of Yassen being alive are so small. You are dismissed, Mrs. Jones."

Mrs. Jones stared at Blunt, and then turned to leave.

"Mrs. Jones? Perhaps it would be wise to increase security at Rider's house."

Mrs Jones sighed and kept walking. It would not be enough.

******

Alex stared out the window into the late afternoon, watching Wolf speak briefly on the radio. Security had been increased, and four more people that Alex didn't know had joined the team. He saw Wolf nod quickly and retreat to the bushes. One minute later, Alex's next door neighbour stepped out of her house with her noisy dog and went down the opposite street. Another minuet passed, and Wolf retreated out of the bushes, brushing the leaves off his clothes, and speaking again into his radio. This routine had been the same for two days now, and Alex was not allowed to leave the house, now extremely bored. He almost wanted the stupid assassin to come so that this thing could be over and done with. He missed Jack, and he missed Sabina. And again, he was missing school.

"You ok Cub?"

Alex turned to Eagle, who entered the room uncertainly. He smiled as he looked at the posters of the Chelsea football team and listened to music in the background.

"Just when I think you're not an ordinary teenager, I see your room. You continue to surprise me Cub."

Alex laughed. Eagle had a good sense of humour, which he hadn't shown when he was taunting me along with everyone else, and was his favourite 'babysitter.' It has been two days since K Unit came crashing through his door, and they were getting nervous as to why there had been no attacks. So one of the eight bodyguards would take turns in spending almost every second with Alex, except when he went to the bathroom, of course. Alex had successfully got away from Eagle for two minutes.

"Are you trying to ditch me Cub?"

Alex smiled. "Trying."

Eagle laughed. "Sorry Alex, I hate acting like a loyal little puppy dog but I'm already kicking myself that you got away for two minutes."

Alex sighed. "I know Eagle. Sorry."

There was a pause. "So…I heard that you…joined Scorpia." Eagle began uncertainly.

Alex froze. This wasn't a topic he was comfortable discussing. Alex said nothing, staring out the window. It was dark now.

"Why?" Eagle pressed. There was nothing accusatory in his voice; only curiosity and to Alex's amazement, awe.

"Has K Unit being talking about me behind my back?" Alex said quietly, though there was amusement in his voice.

Eagle smiled as Alex turned to him, his eyebrows raised. "Well, maybe a bit."

Alex nodded and sighed. "I was wondering how much you knew about what I did."

"What did you do?" Eagle asked, a trickle of fear in his voice. Alex heard it in surprise.

He turned to Eagle, his eyes wide. "Are you afraid of me Eagle?"

Eagle didn't meet Alex's eyes. "No, Cub, not afraid of you, we're just afraid of…what you can do."

"I don't understand. And what do you mean, 'we.'" Alex frowned.

"Cub, you changed sides, and was trained to be an assassin. You know what Scorpia recruits know, the lethal stuff. You're more dangerous and more skilled than any other spy, even before you went with Scorpia. So, M16 are just a bit nervous about that. If you changed sides again, you'd be Scorpia's most lethal weapon."

Alex was silent for a minute. "I changed sides for a reason, Eagle, though that reason is no longer valid. But I didn't exactly feel remorse for joining Scorpia, because M16 has continuously betrayed and manipulated me. I'm sorry that I seem to be considered a threat, though, and that comes to a surprise to me. I was only with Scorpia for a very small amount of time, and when I realised exactly how evil they were, as you know, I turned against them, and more or less made up for what I did when I used the information I gained to stop their plan."

"What did you do?" Eagle asked again, though now there was no fear in his voice. He could see regret in Alex's eyes, but there was goodness there to. Eagle realised he could be dangerous, but chose not to be, and had also heard that he'd saved the world numerous times. Eagle felt guilty about basically calling Alex a traitor. He looked at him and knew he was the complete opposite. He was a hero. But he still wondered why there was regret in his eyes, and sadness there to. What did he do when he was with Scorpia?

Alex met Eagle's eyes, and there was pain there. "I was ordered to kill someone."

Alex didn't want to relive this story, though the new respect and sympathy in Eagle's voice brought down his defence.

Eagle started. "And did you?" he whispered in horror.

Alex sighed and shook head. "Let's talk over dinner. It's a very long and complicated story, and besides, I can hear your stomach rumbling from here."

Eagle laughed, happy to see calm and humour in Alex's eyes. Maybe that meant he didn't kill anyone…Eagle really hoped he didn't. There was no mistaking the pain in his eyes when he said those six words. They made there way downstairs. Alex made pasta with a bolognaise sauce, enjoying cooking just about as much as Jack did.

"So, spill the beans, Cub, I want to hear everything." Eagle said with food in his mouth.

Alex sighed again, picking at his food. "I guess it all started with Yassen Gregorovich."

"Did someone say my name?"

Alex spun around, all colour draining from his face, not believing what he was seeing. Eagle gasped and swore at the same time, bringing up his gun. Alex's plate smashed to the ground.

**Ha! Didn't I say Yassen would be in this chapter! Briefly, I know, but obviously he's big in the next one. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous ones, and sent out alerts and favourite things, you're the reason this chapter is here! REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

**HEY guys, short and sweet message, hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO OWN ALEX RIDER!!!**

**Hmm whose that? Someone in the house with me!**

**Yassen: Scorpia sent me to kill you**

**Me: WHAT! Why!**

**Yassen: Because you said you owned Alex Rider, when you don't.**

**Me: Don't shoot! You don't kill children!**

**Yassen: Well, if you say you don't own Alex Rider, then I won't.**

**DISCLAIMER: Me: OK! Ok! I don't own Alex Rider, or any of the characters!**

**Me: Phew, he's gone! Ok, now that my life isn't in danger anymore, here's the next chapter!**

**_____________________________________________________________________**

"_So, spill the beans, Cub, I want to hear everything." Eagle said with food in his mouth._

_Alex sighed again, picking at his food. "I guess it all started with Yassen Gregorovich."_

"_Did someone say my name?"_

_Alex spun around, all colour draining from his face, not believing what he was seeing. Eagle gasped and swore at the same time, bringing up his gun. Alex's plate smashed to the ground._

"No, Eagle, don't!" Alex yelled as the man swung round about to shoot. But it was too late. Yassen had the element of surprise and was ready for the first attack. Standing only a metre away from Eagle, Yassen swung his gun which made a sickening sound as it made contact with the side of his head. Eagle crashed to the floor with a grunt and laid still, blood on his face.

"No, don't!" Alex yelled again as Yassen swung his gun towards Eagle's still body. He froze, turning towards Alex, his face expressionless. Alex could only stare at him, his mouth dropped open like an idiot. Yassen looked whiter than usual, though the pale blue eyes that Alex never thought he would see again had more life in them than the last time he saw him; which was when he'd closed his eyes after changing Alex's life and died. This couldn't be happening.

"Hello Alex." He said in an even voice, but a slight smile played on his lips as he looked at the boy's shocked expression. Alex closed his mouth, still managing to be embarrassed in this situation.

His face pale, Alex staggered back a few steps, shaking his head slowly from side to side.

"This can't be happening…you're….not supposed to be…" he whispered, mostly to himself. The Russian looked at Alex with a blank face, waiting with patience for him to gain control.

A few seconds passed, and Alex took a deep breathe. How he was here didn't matter right now. What Alex was more concerned about was the gun pointing at his chest. He suddenly remembered why M16 had sent people to protect him, and stared at the assassin, who looked almost…stressed? There was only one reason Yassen would be here.

"Are you here to kill me Yassen?" Alex asked quietly.

Yassen frowned, his mask breaking, not meeting Alex's eyes.

"Scorpia sent me to kill you." He confirmed, looking at Alex in regret.

Alex stared, noticing that he was covered in something…it was black. He would worry about that later. Alex then nodded towards Yassen's gun. "You have a gun; do you intend to use it?"

Alex couldn't believe he was making jokes now; he must be losing it. He tried to hide his smile when he thought of the day in France when the situation had been reversed, and Yassen had asked him the exact thing that he had just asked. Alex had even knocked out one of Yassen's guards. A grin broke unwillingly across Alex's face.

Surprise crossed Yassen's face, and he didn't smile back. He probably thought Alex was losing it to. There was silence as he and Yassen stared at each other, and Alex's humour, and admittedly slight hysteria had passed.

"Just do it, Yassen. You owe me nothing." Alex whispered in a level voice, trying to use reverse psychology. He couldn't fight Yassen, and he had no gun. He eyes darted to Eagle's gun, but it was two far away. He stared back, looking straight into Yassen's pale blue eyes, trying to read them. But he couldn't, there was nothing there.

"You know, at some point this silence will get awkward." Alex said in a frustrated voice.

The Russian sighed in exasperation. "Scorpia will kill me if I fail."

Suddenly, Yassen's eyes widened, and a second later there was a knock at the door. Dang! How good was his hearing!

Alex's stomach lurched. "Don't hurt anyone, Yassen."

Yassen frowned at him slightly, and to Alex's surprise, his lips twitched. "Says the person I've been assigned to kill."

"Cub? Everything ok in there? Why aren't you answering? We caught something on air radar, it was probably just a bird but…Alex? You don't want me to shoot you again do you?"

Alex recognised Wolf's voice. Yassen raised his eyebrows at the last comment, but quickly said. "Tell him everything's ok." He said a warning in his voice.

Alex considered his options. Tell Wolf there's trouble; the big kind. But that would get some or all of the agents killed. Maybe he was overestimating Yassen, but he'd seen what he could do. Second option, do what Yassen wants and probably get killed. Yassen just watched as the boy frowned in concentration, unconcerned, knowing he'd see that there was only one way.

Alex swore quietly in French. "I'm fine, Wolf, what's up?"

"Sabina's and Jack are here. They just wanted to check you're ok, and I want to check the whole house, I'm overreacting of course, but….anyway, can they come in?"

Alex swore again, in Spanish this time. Yassen swore himself, except in Russian.

"I, umm, tell them not to come in right now… I'm getting changed!"

Yassen raised an eyebrow at Alex, his eyes serious, but a small smile on his lips.

"More reason for me to come in." Alex heard Sabina laugh. Hearing her voice he realised how much I'd missed her. At the same time, his heart sank. It may be for the last time.

"Alex, I've seen you naked before…"

"JACK!" Alex said in embarrassment. He didn't want details like that broadcasted in front of K unit, but least of all Yassen, who to Alex's surprise was shaking with laughter. It was an almost frightening expression, because he was trying to keep his face detached at the same time. It still shocked Alex to see him display any emotion though.

"Where's Eagle, Cub? He's not meant to leave your side."

There was a pause, as Alex tried to think of what to say. "Well, I wasn't going to let him watch me get changed."

Wolf heard the nervous edge to Alex's voice. "Are you finished changing now?"

"Ahh, no..." Alex said desperately. He looked at Yassen, who was frowning, his humour long gone, looking calculative, and watching Alex. Maybe he was deciding wether he'd get out alive if he shot him now. But then again, he's had so much time, Alex thought, maybe he didn't want to kill him. Despite everything, he was happy to see Yassen again. Alex had so many questions to ask him about his parents, his father especially, and Yassen knew more about him than maybe anyone in the world. Yet, he was standing there pointing a gun at him; Alex shook his head. He was really losing it.

"Eagle, I don't care if Alex is butt naked, get in there and guard him." Wolf yelled at the top of his voice.

No reply.

"Cub, is Eagle there yet?"

"Ah, yea, you know Eagle, always playing jokes."

"This is no joke, Cub. Open the door."

"Wolf, something's wrong." Alex heard Sabina whisper, her voice rising in panic.

Alex jumped as a noise came from Eagle's radio on the floor. Alex swore, this time in English.

"Wolf to Eagle, come in, Eagle?"

Alex looked at Yassen in fear, knowing he might only have seconds to live. Alex was surprised to see a slight hint of pain in the Russians eyes.

"I'm sorry, Alex, sorry for what I'm about to do." Yassen said, taking his gun off safety.

Yassen didn't bother to keep his voice down. Hearing this, Sabina screamed.

"ALEX, NO! WOLF!!!!! THAT'S YASSEN GREGOR……."

Her scream was cut off as a gun went off; Wolf shot the door down a second time.

Alex yelled in surprise as Yassen unexpectedly grabbed Alex by the neck and spun him around towards the door. Alex tried to elbow him in the face, but he dodged it easily and held a gun to his temple. Alex froze as the familiar feeling of cold metal touched his head. Seconds later, Wolf, Sabina and Jack crashed into the room, taking in the scene before him.

"Leave him alone!" Sabina growled angrily at Yassen.

"No, Alex, please, no." Jack sobbed. She hadn't seen him in spy mode action before, but least of all with a gun to his head. She knew it had happened many times before, but Yassen killed Ian, and was here to finish off the rest of her family.

"Hello, Sabina, it's nice to see you again." Yassen smiled pleasantly at her as if they were old friends meeting again, and not the man who nearly chopped off her fingers a while back.

"Can't say the same thing." Sabina replied darkly, but her eyes were wide with fear, watching Alex.

"Cub! Let him go Gregorovich!" Wolf growled as the six other M16 agents filed into the room, pointing their guns at him.

Alex struggled against Yassen's grip, gasping in pain as the guns point pressed harder.

"I don't want to have to hurt you, Alex, keep quiet and stop struggling." Yassen murmured so only he could hear. Suddenly Alex wished he'd held back the pain, because under his small, hardly audible gasp, everything turned chaotic.

"CUB!"

"Someone call M16!"

"ALEX! WHERE'S EAGLE?"

"LET ALEX GO YOU SON OF A…"

"CUB!"

"ALEX!"

"Eagle's there."

"NO! Tell me he's not dead Cub!"

"Listen Snake, he's….

"PUT ME THROUGH TO M16, THIS IS SNAKE!"

"MAN DOWN!"

"BLUNT! This is Fox, CODE RED…GREGOROVICH HAS HIM!"

"Mrs Jones? THIS IS SNAKE, send a team in, MAN DOWN…YASSEN GREGOROVICH…yea, I thought he was dead too… no Alex isn't dead…yet."

"TOP AGENT RIDER HOSTAGE! Can you hear me? CODE RED!"

"Eagle! Wake up!"

"ALEX HASN"T DONE ANYTHING WRONG, PLEASE!"

"LET HIM GO YASSEN!"

"Everyone, I'm fine, calm…"

"_**EVERYONE SHUT UP**_**!" **Wolf screamed. Silence fell, and it was almost unbearably eerie. Yassen had just stood there, his face emotionless, waiting for everyone to be quiet.

Alex watched, facing his friends, completely hopeless.

**SOZ for the cliff hanger! Please review! P.S has anyone figured out how Yassen got in? There were clues!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Thought it was about time to update, so here's the next chap, hope u like it! Plus I'm in a really good mood right now, don't' ask me why, I'm just really hyper!**

**Disclaimer: Since Yassen paid me a visit, I would like to make it perfectly clear that I DO NOT OWN Alex Rider or the other characters.**

**Enjoy!**

"_TOP AGENT RIDER HOSTAGE! Can you hear me? CODE RED!"_

"_Eagle! Wake up!"_

"_ALEX HASN"T DONE ANYTHING WRONG, PLEASE!"_

"_LET HIM GO YASSEN!"_

"_Everyone, I'm fine, calm…!"_

"_**EVERYONE SHUT UP!" **__Wolf screamed. Silence fell, and it was almost unbearably eerie. Yassen had just stood there, his face emotionless, waiting for everyone to be quiet._

_Alex watched, facing his friends, completely hopeless._

­­­­­­­­­

Mrs Jones walked into Alan's office, sticking yet _another_ peppermint into her mouth.

"Alan, we just got a report from Wolf, and so far no one has attacked. I'm getting worried, it's meant to have happened by now."

"There's nothing to worry about, Mrs. Jones. Our information didn't give a specific time or date, we just know that it will happen. We now have eight highly trained agents guarding the house, an unnecessary amount, if you ask me. Nothing is going to happen to Alex Rider." Blunt replied bluntly.

As he said this, Mrs. Jones emergency cell phone began to ring, as did the one on Blunt's desk, and his emergency cell. They could hear phones go off in the other near by offices, and Blunt's secretaries in the hallway. _Phones were ringing throughout the whole building!_

"No…" Mrs Jones whispered. Blunt quickly put the one on his desk on speaker, ignoring his cell.

"Blunt."

"**BLUNT! This is Fox; CODE RED…GREGOROVICH HAS HIM!"**

Mrs. Jones felt like ice had ran through her veins. Yassen Gregorovich... She quickly picked up her cell.

"Hello, this is Mrs Jones."

"**Mrs Jones? THIS IS SNAKE, send a team in, man down! YASSEN GREGOROVICH!"**

"I thought he was dead." Whispered Mrs Jones, though she had clearly stated to Blunt that she didn't."

"**Yea, I thought he was dead to." **Snake replied impatiently.

"Is Alex still alive?" Cried Mrs. Jones, her emotionless façade slipping in grief; she'd always had a soft spot for Alex.

"**No, Alex isn't dead…yet."**

"**TOP AGENT RIDER HOSTAGE! Can you hear me? CODE RED!"** A voice said through Blunt's phone, who wasn't replying.

Mrs. Jones put a ear back to her cell phone. Snake wasn't talking to her anymore, but kept the phone on. **"Eagle, wake up!"**

"Alan! We need to send back up!"

"It's a hostage situation, backup will do nothing." Blunt said emotionlessly.

Alan was still listening to the conversation, trying to catch everything possible.

"**ALEX HASN'T DONE ANYTHING WRONG, PLEASE!"**

The two M16 higher ups listened to a girl scream.

"Alan, listen to me, we need to do _something_."

"**LET HIM GO YASSEN!"**

Suddenly, Blunt heard what he was looking for, the quiet, calm voice of a boy.

"**Everyone, I'm fine, calm…"**

Mrs. Jones sighed in relief has he heard Alex speak, before someone bellowed on the other side of the line, making the table vibrate from the noise coming from the phone.

"**EVERYONE SHUT UP!"** Someone screamed; Blunt assumed it was the SAS man codenamed Wolf. He used him for that reason; he was a leader, and took control of a situation no matter how hopeless it seemed.

Suddenly everything was silent on the other side of the line, chillingly so. Mrs. Jones shivered, knowing Yassen Gregorovich had Alex Rider at gunpoint. Both listened very carefully, waiting for him to speak.

*************

Nine pairs of eyes were on Alex; Sabina, Jack and the seven remaining SAS/M16 agents. Despite the situation, he was still uncomfortable under the scrutiny. Eagle lay motionless on the floor, the blood beginning to dry on his face.

"Is everyone ready to listen now?" Yassen said softly.

Sabina and Jack glared at the assassin, but like the rest of the men stayed silent.

Yassen nodded. "Good. Now, I know you're all trying to think of ways to save Alex, but unfortunately there is none. I'll be taking him with me, and there is nothing you can do about it. Try and stop me, I'll shoot the boy. Try and shoot me, then you'll be unlikely to meet you're target, and hit Alex instead. There are no demands that I wish to make, no ransom you can pay, so let me save you some time with that. Now, I want everyone to put their guns on the ground, and back up to the wall."

Everyone stood frozen, waiting for a command from Wolf, who in fact was clueless. Yassen was right. He couldn't save Cub. The knowledge hit him, and his shoulders slumped slightly. Yassen raised his eyebrows, waiting.

Wolf swore, and took out his phone.

"Blunt, I know you're listening, what do we do?"

"There's nothing you can do, you failed the mission. My top agent is in enemy hands. Do as Yassen says, put down your guns, there is no other way. We are sending tailers and snipers, but they won't make it and wouldn't be able to do much anyway."

The line went dead.

Wolf put his phone away, and lowered his gun to the ground in defeat. Everyone followed his lead, and backed to the wall.

Yassen nodded, and keeping Alex at hand, slowly struggled with him out the door. Once they were outside, Alex tried to fight free. He had nothing to lose now, he didn't care that a gun was pointing to his head; once they were alone he would probably be shot, now that he wasn't needed as a hostage.

"Alex, stop it. I'm not going to hurt you." Yassen snapped

Alex snorted; right.

He stomped on Yassen's foot, and elbowed him in the gut. Yassen didn't even flinch, but his hands loosened ever so slightly, and Alex twisted his hands up and broke free, running back towards the house.

"I'm free!" he yelled, now a few metres away from Yassen. There was immediate movement inside the house, but it was too late. Alex felt something sharp hit his neck, and everything began to spin. Someone grabbed him as he fell limp.

"I'm sorry Alex, you gave me no choice."

Alex barely felt himself being thrown into a car. Car doors closed, an engine roared to life and Yassen sped away with Alex in the back seat…

**HEY guys, pleaaassse review, hoped u liked this chapter. We all love Y! Any suggests would be great, though I've already thought of a story line, a few nudges in the right direction would be cool!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, I'm sorry about how long this chapter took to be posted, but I just got back to school this week and already have a biology assignment! Try harsh…anyway, thanks so much too all my reviewers; I'll get the next chap posted when I can.**

**P.S a lot of Qs answered in this chap! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: ALRIGHT! I don't own Alex Rider or the other characters!**

"_I'm free!" he yelled, now a few metres away from Yassen. There was immediate movement inside the house, but it was too late. Alex felt something sharp hit his neck, and everything began to spin. Someone grabbed him as he fell limp._

"_I'm sorry Alex, you gave me no choice."_

_Alex barely felt himself being thrown into a car, an engine roaring to life and speeding away._

Alex woke up, his head spinning so much he almost passed out again. But eventually, everything became clear, and he realised he was in a chair, hands cuffed behind his back. He groaned, his head throbbing more painfully. Is there any knock out dart that doesn't leave you with a splitting headache? Suddenly, he was just fed up. Fed up with M16, fed up with Scorpia, and fed up with Yassen.

"WELL this is just BLOODY PERFECT!" he yelled, deciding that he didn't care if Yassen heard. "Someone REALLY HAS IT IN FOR ME! I mean COME ON, is that all I BLOODY GET! A MONTH! PERFECT!"

***

Yassen was in the kitchen, and jumped when he heard Alex yelling. At first he thought he had gone mad, but then realised this was his way of letting it all out. He couldn't blame the boy; he never seemed to be able to get away from this life. He laughed quietly to himself as Alex swore in a very British way. His father had been the same.

"_Why can't the bloody target just stay still? It would make my whole bloody job a whole lot easier!" _

Yassen laughed again at the memory, and sighed sadly. He still missed John, he was a brother to Yassen, and a best friend. The only family he had. That was why he was on the run right now. He was meant to have reported back to Scorpia hours ago, and they would know by now that he had double crossed them.

He had made the decision before he got to Alex's house. He would take him away, protect him till Scorpia had given up, or M16 had insured his safety, and then work alone. Eventually, in a few months, he would retire. He was finished with this life. He wasn't old, but was too old for the job. He was probably richer than the Queen by now. He would have a good life from now on, and wouldn't cut Alex out of it, though he might prefer it that way. He almost considered Alex as a nephew, or something close to it. And he knew how he was going to fill the time they had. He would train him to be the best spy he could be. Alex was young. He had so much of life to live, and would probably work for M16 as one of their best agents. He didn't want that for him, but his gift would be making sure he knew what to do to stay alive.

***

Alex's hands had started to scratch and bleed, as he tried to break free of the cuffs. He heard a noise, and looked up in surprise to see the TV was on. It was playing teletubbies. Just then, Yassen walked in to the room, holding a breakfast trey.

"Yassen, I thought you wanted to kill me, not torture me!" he said, looking at the TV in disgust as the four coloured characters at custard of some sort.

Yassen smiled slightly, and turned off the TV. "Sorry, Alex, it was playing the news before."

Alex glared at Yassen, raising his eyebrows. He was calling the shots; Alex couldn't do anything right now. The assassin sighed, putting down the breakfast trey in front of Alex. "I suppose you're hungry, seeing how your dinner sort of crashed to pieces last night."

Alex started. "Last night? How long was I out?"

Yassen's face remained blank, but something flickered in his eyes…guilt?

"Well, the dart I used knocked you out for the night. I didn't want to use it Alex, but you didn't leave me much choice."

Alex looked away from him childishly, brooding. He had no idea what was going on. Apologizing for knocking him out when he told him he was assigned to kill him? This was getting weird. But then again, his connection to Yassen was through his father, and they had been best friends. Maybe he never intended to hurt Alex.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Yassen asked, confused.

"What, am I being rude?" Alex snarled sarcastically. "So sorry, I'm a little _tied up_ right now."

Yassen eyes flickered in recognition, and he took keys out of his pocket. "Didn't know when you were waking up, so I thought better safe than sorry."

He bent down, and his breath stopped. "Alex! What did you do to your hands?!"

Yassen looked with concealed horror as blood dripped down Alex's arms. He saw Alex shrug. "I tried to get the bloody things off me!"

Yassen said nothing and unlocked the cuffs. Alex immediately surveyed his hands. They weren't looking too good. "I'll get some bandages." Yassen muttered angrily.

"Forget it. I'm not two, Yassen." Alex muttered resentfully. He knew that he should wash them so that they didn't get infected, but he didn't want to be helped by Yassen. He wolfed down breakfast, which consisted of scrambled eggs on toast with orange juice. He had to admit, it was good. He didn't worry about it being poisoned; really he was just too hungry, and it wasn't Yassen's style; Alex thought of a plan as he ate.

"Umm, maybe just some water would be good to clean the cuts." Alex stated emotionlessly. Yassen sighed and left the room. Alex took his chance. He ran out of the living room and towards the door, pulling at it furiously. It wouldn't budge, and Alex saw with shock that there was no handle, but a hand detector on the side wall. Alex swore, and ran to the window. He realised he was in an apartment as he looked out at other blocks. But the windows had bars on them, and breaking the glass would be useless.

"Sorry Alex, you won't get out that way." Yassen said coldly, holding a bowl of water and bandages in his hands. Alex straightened up, looking straight into his eyes.

"Let. Me. Out." Alex said through his teeth. Yassen frowned at him.

"Clean your hands Alex." He said shortly, placing the bowl on the table with some tissues and walked back to the kitchen. Alex decided to explore the assassin's home. Walking out of the living room, Alex came to a long hallway with a few doors. The first one looked like the bathroom, so he went to the next one. An office; now that's what he was looking for.

Alex walked over to the desk and started to look through the draws. He didn't feel guilty about it. He was, well sometimes, a spy; it's what he did. The first desk, surprise, surprise, had a large gun in it. Alex's heart thumped as he took it out and put it in his belt.

The next draw on the left had another gun, but Alex didn't take that one and moved to the next draw, which to Alex's surprise had many files in it. Alex didn't want to look at these; they would be files on people who were probably now dead. But his curiosity got the best of him.

He picked up the top one, and felt like his heart stopped when he saw his name, along with a picture and details. He swallowed, urging himself to calm down; he already knew this. He went to the bottom and worked upwards, recognising a few of the names, politicians from other countries or millionaires of some kind.

He got near the end of the pile and gasped as he saw Ian Rider's name, a picture and a huge history. He didn't expect his reaction. He hands started to shake, and he felt the blood rush from his face. His life had been so hectic from the point of his death, that he never really thought about it, and didn't realise how much he missed his uncle, the last family he had. He never felt so alone. But what really pushed it was that Ian was just a file; a file with a name and a box to tick when the job was finished.

"Alex?"

Alex froze, not looking up. He turned away from Yassen, ignoring him, trying to read about Ian's missions, only briefly though because Yassen yelled at him.

"What do you think you're doing in here?"

Alex turned around, glaring at him darkly. "Can I ask you something, Yassen? You told me you couldn't kill me on that plane because of your friendship with my father. But what happened when you went and shot my uncle? Did the rules change, or did you figure John wouldn't mind as much if you murdered his brother, rather than his son?" Alex asked ruefully, his voice icy cold.

Yassen froze in surprise, his face pale. For a moment he said nothing. Alex watched him coldly. Then Yassen's face relaxed into its usual mask, before answering. "I was paid, Alex."

"You were paid to kill me, why don't you just do it, why am I here?"

"Alex, you're here because I don't want to take the life of my best friend's son. I've already told you that."

"Ian was John's brother!"

"Alex, your father knew what my job was, because he did the same thing. I don't know what he'd say about it, but…he's gone." He swallowed, and Alex realised that Yassen still missed Alex's father.

Yassen sighed. "We have to leave now Alex, we've already been here to long."

"What? Yassen, why do you have me here? _How_ are you alive! And fine, you're not going to kill me, which means there's no reason for me to be here!"

"We're both on the run, and I need to make sure you're ok, Scorpia is after you, and going back home won't save you, even with guards. They'll keep attacking. M16 has to make sure they leave you alone. For me, Scorpia and M16 are hunting me down, but I can take care of myself."

"M16 can protect me."

"Oh, like they did last night?"

"How _did_ you get in?"

"Well, you may not have noticed last night, but I was covered in soot. I parachuted in from a helicopter to high to be seen. I knew the exact coordinates of your roof. Then, I went down the chimney almost instantly. I'll give them one thing though, they had you a personal guard, and as soon as their radar detected something they were banging at your door. There was almost no way they could have seen me, I was dressed completely in black, the same colour as my parachute."

"After you knocked me out, how did you get away? K Unit had the whole area checked."

"I stole a vehicle parked by your house; you don't go through years of training without knowing how to start a car without keys." Yassen said, raising his eyebrows at Alex, as if he should have known all the details of his capture. So sorry, Alex thought, I was a little knocked out.

"You still didn't answer my question." Alex said. Yassen stared.

"How are you alive?!"

Yassen sighed. "Later Alex, we have to leave."

Alex frowned. "Fine, where are we going to go?" There was no point in arguing with Yassen. Alex would try and escape when the time came.

"You'll see."

Alex glared at the man ruefully as he stood aside, indicating for Alex to leave his office. The spy once more looked sadly at the calm picture of his uncle before turning and walking out the door. Yassen locked it behind him.

"Clean your hands, and then we'll go." he said to Alex shortly. After Alex had carefully dabbed water over his cuts, they walked to the front door. Yassen pressed his hand against the pad, and the door opened to a long, elegant corridor.

"Where are we?" Alex asked in confusion.

"We're in one of the best flats in London. It's one of the residents I keep here." Yassen replied walking into an elevator and pressing level one. Alex followed reluctantly, pulling his jacket over Yassen's stolen gun.

Once they got to the lobby, the receptionist looked up and smiled. "Good morning Mr. San. Please, if there is anything you need, don't hesitate to ask me. I'll be here until lunchtime, that's when I get off." Yassen nodded towards her, hardly sparing a glance. When they walked out onto the street, Yassen saw a smirk on Alex's face, and he was laughing quietly.

"Is something funny?" Yassen asked, slightly annoyed with the boy's mood swings.

Alex laughed louder this time, and shook his head. "I think she likes you."

Yassen stiffened and a shocked expression that Alex would never forget for the rest of his life crossed his face. Alex couldn't help it. He doubled over and clutched the wall for support, his other hand wrapped around his waist, laughing so much the pedestrians looked at him with amused expressions.

"Alex, stop it, you're drawing to much attention to us." Yassen whispered, but the shocked expression, though he tried greatly to suppress, made Alex laugh even more at his efforts to be the emotionless Yassen he always was.

"ALEX! You're going to get us killed!" Yassen growled in his ear. With that, Alex stopped laughing and cringed away from the assassin.

"Fine, ok!"

Yassen pulled him to a black Mercedes and pushed him roughly into the front seat. Alex suddenly remembered the situation, his sudden humour gone, and frowned, trying to decide what to do. Yassen slipped into the front seat and drove away from the flats.

"Where are we going?" Alex asked coldly.

"Not now, you'll see."

With that annoyingly short and uninformative response, they drove in silence. Alex watched parts of London rush by, until they parked in a garage and entered another car. Alex raised his eyebrows.

"We don't want to be tracked." Yassen explained simply.

They rode until they were outside, to Alex's surprise, a large training complex.

"Why are we at a gym?!" Alex asked in bewilderment.

"You'll see."

Alex sighed in frustration. The man could really annoy him.

"Fine, you got it, _Mr San._" Alex said, childishly trying to annoy him back. "If you do go out with that girl, you might want to tell her your real name. I got to hand it to ya, she's pretty." Alex smirked at the assassin. Yassen ignored him, but still frowned slightly.

They walked to the front desk to meet a smiling, fit woman in a sports bra.

"Hello, welcome to a fitter body; we have a series of packages that…"

"How much for me and my son to enter?" Yassen cut her off rudely.

She was a little taken aback. She looked at the two men. The one who spoke radiated confidence, and she couldn't help but be a little afraid of the slim but muscled man. His son wore the same blank face as his father's, and had muscles of his own. What made them look so alike were the eyes. Although the boy's were brown, and the man's a pale blue, their eyes were both serious and hard, which looked unsettling on the boy. There was something dangerous about him. How old was he, sixteen?

"Umm..." She stuttered, the man sighing with impatience. "First timers are free."

"Good." He said and walked away. The boy smirked slightly and followed him. As he was leaving, his jacket swung to the left, and a glint of metal shined in the light. The receptionist froze… it almost looked like a gun. She shook herself. Ridiculous, what would a boy his age be doing with a gun?

Alex followed Yassen through a few sections of the gym. It was a weekday, and early morning, so there was hardly anyone there yet. They finally stopped in the middle of a dojo, (karate training room) and Yassen turned to face Alex.

"What's going on Yassen?" Alex asked suspiciously, wondering if trusting the man was a good idea, not that he really fully trusted him in the first place.

Yassen smiled, and without warning, swung round to kick Alex in the stomach. Automatically, Alex crossed his arms in front of him, blocking what would have winded him to the ground. Yassen immediately followed with a punch to the face. Alex only just had time to bring his right hand up and block the blow, but Yassen swept his foot to Alex's legs, and the teenager fell to the ground. Yassen closed his hand around Alex's neck, smirking.

"What are you playing at?!" Alex yelled, though his voice was strangled, and he brought his hands up to try and free himself, tugging at Yassen's hands.

"What do you think, Alex? I'm going to train you." Yassen laughed at Alex's horrified, shocked face, and Alex was pulled to his feet, right before the assassin spun around into a spinning hook kick, contacting with Alex's shoulder. Alex gasped in pain; that was going to bruise.

"GREGOROVICH! I don't need training! I'm a black belt alrea…"

Yassen brought his fist down aiming for Alex's head, but Alex crossed his hands above him, squeezed his hands over his, twisting Yassen's arm behind him and kneeing him in the back in a soft area that he knew would hurt. Yassen fell to his knees, and Alex took a step back, panting, throwing off his jacket.

Yassen stood up, smiling in amusement at Alex's glare. "That's one to you Alex."

Suddenly, his smile vanished, and his eyes flashed in anger, staring at Alex's belt. Alex froze, and looked down, as shiny metal reflected in the light.

"Alex, is that my gun?!"

**Well, there's chapter 7! If you want anything in particular to happen, I've already got a plot but I can maybe add in details that you would like. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, thanks a heap for the reviews! Chapter 8 is here!!!!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, Alex Rider included.**

**Happy Birthday M333gan!**** This is my present to you, a new chapter, a thankyou for all the reviews you've posted! And happy valentines day 2!**

**THANKYOU to all my reviewers, I've finally gotten over 100!!!!!!!!!!!!! As a thankyou for getting me to a 3 digit number, I've made this chapter reaaaalllly long!**** happy Valentines Day!**

**Now, on to the story…**

_Yassen stood up, smiling in amusement at Alex's glare. "That's one to you Alex."_

_Suddenly, his smile vanished, and his eyes flashed in anger, staring at Alex's belt. Alex froze, and looked down, as shiny metal reflected in the light._

"_Alex, is that my gun?!"_

Mrs Jones walked quickly into Blunt's office, dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. It was 10.30am, and although she was used to staying up for the job, she hadn't slept since Alex Rider had been kidnapped. Blunt was sitting at his desk, looking through files of other missions, though he wasn't concerned with them at this point of time.

He'd sent K Unit and two other units to search for Alex Rider, but in truth he was presumed dead. An assassin was sent to kill him, Yassen Gregorovich of all people, and although he didn't kill him straight off, it was probably because he would be shot straight after by the SAS. As soon as they were alone, he would have killed him.

But Rider was Blunt's top agent, and would be extremely useful in the future. He wouldn't give up on him if there was a chance he was alive. He'd tried to explain this to a distraught and angry Jack Starbright, not to mention the young agent's girlfriend Sabina Pleasure, but they were both in hysterics at this point.

But when Mrs Jones, soon followed by Smither's walked briskly into the room with a new purpose in their step, Blunt sat up a little straighter, if that was possible.

Mrs Jones smiled slightly, setting up Blunt's laptop and slipping a disk inside.

"What is this Mrs Jones?"

Smither's answered, looking very tired as well; he didn't want anything happening to Alex, the old chap, or young chap, as it was. "We've taken a security tape from outside the_ London Heights_ hotel, where we've discovered Gregorovich had been staying under the name George San. This was filmed at 9.00am this morning." There was excitement in his voice, and he was about to press play when K Unit came in, looking defeated.

"I'm sorry sir; we have yet to find Cub…Alex." Wolf said sadly.

"We have something that you might want to see." Mrs Jones replied seriously. K Unit curiously made there way over to the laptop, and Smither's pressed play.

They watched as a cold Russian with fair hair walked out into the street, his pale blue eyes scanning the surroundings cautiously. Everyone's breathe caught as the young spy followed behind him, also checking out the area subconsciously. As he did this, to everyone's shock, he was smiling, and could be seen laughing.

"What the..?!" Eagle said, wincing as the movement in his face tugged at the large purple and blue bruise on the side of his head.

"**Is something funny?"** They heard Yassen say coldly.

Everyone gaped at the screen as Alex laughed even harder, shaking his head.

"**I think she likes you." **

Everyone sighed in relief when they heard the young spy's voice, but at the same time everyone turned, raising their eyebrows at Eagle as he cracked up laughing himself.

"That kid is awesome! He's kidnapped and knocked out yet he mocks his kidnapper, the deadliest assassin in the world! He's either cracked under the stress of the situation or he's the coolest kid I've ever met! Maybe it's a bit of both."

Everyone turned back to the screen, ignoring the child like agent, but soon the rest of K Unit was laughing with him, as they looked at the expression on the infamous assassin. Like Alex, K Unit and Smither's began to double over in laughter, clutching each other for support. Even Wolf laughed…a little. The two M16 heads stared at them in disapproval. Yet everyone stopped as soon as they heard Yassen speaking angrily from the screen.

"**Alex, stop it, you're drawing to much attention to us." **The assassin whispered, and he was right. Civilians were looking at them, amused expressions on their faces. Alex continued to laugh.

"Doesn't he want attention, so we can find them?" Wolf inquired.

"If that were the case, then it makes sense that he'd want Alex to stop, but something else is going on here."

"Of course there is, Alex is alive, maybe Gregorovich isn't going to kill him!" Smither's said in excitement.

"**ALEX! You're going to get us killed!" **Yassen said to Alex. The boy cringed away from him, frowning.

"**Fine, ok!"**

The seven agents watched as the assassin pushed the young spy into the front seat of a black Mercedes. They could just see the boy frowning, looking around the car…for an escape?

"I trust the licence plate has been tracked…?" Blunt said.

Smither's nodded. "It was found in a garage about ten minutes away from the hotel. I'm sorry sir, we've lost them. We're continuing the search…but what does this video tell us?"

Everyone was silent for a minute.

"He's alive." Fox said quietly.

"But for how long?" Snake said.

"His wrists were bleeding, handcuffs most likely." Mrs Jones said grimly.

"Then he's still there involuntarily?" Blunt said.

"What? Of course, he was kidnapped!" Mrs Jones replied, shocked.

"I know that Mrs. Jones, but he didn't look that unhappy, did he, he was doubled over in laughter." Blunt said shortly.

"That kind of reaction is common under stress." Snake, the team medic, put in.

"Not to mention he was just about thrown into the car. It looked to me like if Yassen turned his back he would have run for it." Wolf growled.

"I agree. For all we know Gregorovich is taking him to Scorpia, so those sick criminals can watch him die, or even torture him first. We need to hurry." Eagle said seriously, anxiety creeping into his voice.

"But why did Yassen say Alex was going to get both of them killed. If he was talking about M16, then it would just be him, but if he was talking about Scorpia…." Blunt trailed off. "He considers himself a marked man."

Everyone was silent. "He would only be a marked man if he double crossed or failed the mission." Mrs. Jones stated.

"That would mean he was helping Alex…that he saved him." Eagle said, shocked.

"No, he's an assassin, and he was sent to kill Alex, and now he's holding him against his will. Besides, even if he was there to protect him, why would he think he would be better suited to protect him than us?" Wolf said resentfully.

"Yea, and why would _Yassen Gregorovich _be helping a fourteen year old teenaged spy who he was told to kill?" Eagle said, shaking his head.

"Well, they've met before." Mrs Jones said quietly.

"WOW, backtrack, they've what? How is Cub still alive?!" Fox exclaimed. The rest of K Unit looked just as surprised; they knew Yassen's reputation.

"Yassen won't hurt Alex, we'll search for him but he's in more danger from Scorpia than from Yassen." Blunt remarked.

"Are you insane? He's an assassin! That has your top agent!" Wolf exclaimed in disbelief. "And I'm with Fox, how do they know each other?"

"Wolf, all of you, there's something you don't know about Yassen Gregorovich. He knew Alex's father."

There was a shocked silence from K Unit as they stared at Mrs. Jones.

"You might have to run that by us again." Fox said.

Mrs Jones continued. "John Rider was one of our best agents. He was working undercover as an assassin for Scorpia and a trainer at Malagosto. And guess who his favourite and most gifted pupil was?"

"Yassen Gregorovich." Snake whispered.

Mrs. Jones nodded. "Rider was Yassen's mentor, and one of his best friends. Gregorovich's first mission was with John, and there was a complication. Rider ended up saving his life."

No one spoke, so Mrs. Jones continued. "Approximately fourteen years later, Yassen met John's son on a roof top in Cornwell. This was Alex's first mission for M16. Well, Yassen killed the man who had failed to carry out the operation successfully, but kept Alex alive. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't have, but John and Alex look very much alike, and he knew who Alex was."

"So much for not having a heart." Eagle murmured.

"Well, not killing him once isn't enough, is that the only thing you're going on?" Wolf asked sceptically.

"No, Alex was on holiday in the South of France with Sabina Pleasure, (At this K Unit grinned) when he saw Yassen on a boat. Something happened, and Alex hunted Yassen down, and attempted to kill him."

K Unit gapped at him. "_What?" _Wolf whispered. "You're kidding right? Why did he do that?! Is he suicidal!"

"He didn't even know his father had been a spy, he tried to kill Yassen for what he did to him." Mrs. Jones said grimly.

"What did Yassen do to cub?" Fox demanded angrily.

"Later that afternoon Sabina's father was critically injured. Gregorovich was assigned to kill him, and very nearly succeeded." Mrs Jones said.

Suddenly Eagle laughed and clapped his hands. "It doesn't get any better, does it?! Yassen was told to kill Alex's girlfriend's dad! Man, for someone who apparently cares about Cub, as twisted as that is, he sure seems to be trying to piss him off in every way possible, anymore of Alex's loved ones he wants to kill?"

Mrs Jones coughed, and Blunt shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"Well, that wasn't the only reason Alex nearly killed Gregorovich." Blunt said.

K Unit stared. "What, there's more?"

Mrs Jones slipped a peppermint into her mouth. "Well, yes, Yassen killed Alex's uncle, Ian Rider."

There was a shocked silence, as K Unit gaped at the two heads of M16.

***

Alex backed away from Yassen, hands up, admittedly afraid of his murderous glare.

"Well…umm…no, it's not your gun." Alex lied pitifully, as Yassen walked towards him. Yassen raised his eyebrows, his eyes cold.

"Yes, Alex, I think it is. You stole from my office." Yassen said, his eyes angry, but to Alex it almost looked like he was appraising him.

"What! No, of course not." Alex said, his eyes widening in 'innocence,' sounding insulted that he would suggest such a thing.

Yassen's face remained blank and cold, but Alex thought he could see humour deep in his eyes. He stared at Alex until the spy couldn't stand it anymore.

"FINE! Just stop looking at me like that. It's your gun, happy?" Alex exclaimed, squirming under Yassen's impenetrable gaze.

"No, not particularly." Yassen said dryly.

"Well, you asked for it, Scorpia sent you, for crying out loud, the very people who _'took me in.'_" Alex said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"I heard that you followed my instructions," said Yassen, tilting his head to one side, examining Alex. "They tried to kill you."

Alex was suddenly nervous. "And do you know why?" he asked quietly, dreading the answer.

Yassen sighed. "They said it was because you were a spy, but I know they were lying. John Rider was a great assassin; they wouldn't have killed his son without reason." Yassen eyes bored into Alex's. "What did you do?"

Alex was extremely nervous now. He knew that this would be coming, but how could he tell him what happened when it would reveal the truth about his father. Yassen might kill him if he knew who his father really was. Suddenly he'd just be an annoying M16 spy, the son of a traitorous double agent, disposed of quickly by the best assassin in the world.

Alex said nothing, staring at the assassin with wide eyes, before blinking, and letting his face go blank. But it was too late; Yassen had seen the fear there.

Yassen looked confused. "What is wrong Alex?"

"Nothing."

Yassen surveyed him for a moment, eyes narrowed slightly. Alex met his gaze, face blank.

"You're not telling me something Alex."

It wasn't a question. He knew. There was no point in lying to him, so Alex said nothing. There was a pause, and Yassen nodded.

"Fine, we'll talk about that later. Once they tried to kill you though, you stopped their plans?"

Alex suddenly looked defensive, and nodded. "Their plan was sick." Alex growled.

Yassen sighed. "That's irrelevant when you're an assassin."

"I'm not an assassin, I tried to kill someone and I couldn't. And I'm glad; I'm not like that, not at all."

Yassen's head snapped up. "_You were sent on an assassination?"_

Alex blinked in surprise. "Yes, you didn't know?"

Yassen stared, his gaze penetrating. "Obviously not. You had only just started training. _Why_ would they send you on an assignment…was it an easy one?" Yassen demanded.

Alex shifted uncomfortably, not meeting Yassen's gaze. He hated talking about this, coming so close to being a murderer.

"Alex." Yassen said.

The spy sighed, looking up at Yassen. "Not exactly easy."

Yassen waited for him to continue.

"I was told to kill…" Alex cleared his throat, regret in his eyes.

"Mrs. Jones."

Shock flew across Yassen's face, before blinking, and letting it fall into his usual mask. "I don't understand any of this, why they sent a fourteen year old to kill the _deputy_ of M16, why they tried to kill you…" Yassen shook his head, gazing at the wall. Then, he looked up, sympathy in his eyes, to Alex's surprise.

"They showed your father's death to you, didn't they?" He said softly.

_Except he didn't actually die._ Alex nodded.

Yassen frowned. "I didn't want you to see that, I never wanted to see it either."

So Yassen had seen it too. Alex remembered how he felt when he first saw it, and was sorry for the Russian, watching his only friend die.

Yassen suddenly shrugged, his face emotionless. "It comes with the job, as Julia Rothman found out. Your means of killing her were unique, to say the least Alex."

"That was an accident." Alex said defensively.

"You seem to get into quite a lot of accidents, don't you Alex?"

Alex frowned, looking away. He didn't like talking about his encounter with Scorpia with Yassen, it raised too many questions that Alex didn't want to answer. It was time to change the subject.

"I could say the same about you. You never answered _my_ question, how are you still alive?" Alex raised his eyebrows at Yassen, who shrugged.

"There's isn't much to tell. Scorpia found me before M16 and were just able to save me…just. You're lucky they didn't see you there. You have quite a reputation." Yassen said grimly.

Alex shook his head. "How did you survive? You were hit in the chest!" Alex said incredulously.

"It seems I'll be sticking around for a while longer." Yassen mused, almost to himself. Alex smiled slightly.

"We can continue our stories later. Right now, we must continue your training, which will include martial arts, obviously, rifle training, language study, mapping, flying, driving, piloting, and much more. But first, perhaps you should give me my gun back."

Alex froze, taking an involuntary step back. Yassen raised his eyebrows, holding out his hand. Alex felt like a child caught with a packet of gum; gum, gun, what's the difference these days?

"How did you even know it was your gun?" Alex said annoyed.

"I knew as soon as I saw the handle." Yassen said.

Alex looked at down at the handle, and blinked in confusion; he'd expected to see the initials YG on it or something like that, but instead, there was a large letter 'C.'

"C?" Alex murmured.

Yassen nodded, his face blank, but something flickered in his eyes. "Your father gave it to me right before my first mission, the one he saved my life on. I keep it separate from my other guns."

Alex eyes widened in surprise; he was holding something his dad had held, and also something that had probably killed many people.

"What does the C stand for?" Alex asked quietly.

"It was my assassin codename, Cossack." Yassen said, staring thoughtfully into space. "Not many people in the world know that, which means it's safe to carry around with me. Now that you know that though, I'm afraid I have to kill you." Yassen said seriously, bring out his gun.

Alex eyes widened, and he tensed, before Yassen grinned at him, putting his gun away. "Some trust, Alex, please."

Alex felt like a complete idiot, but still couldn't help but smile back. Had Yassen just made a joke?

"What was my father's codename?" Alex asked, burning with curiosity.

Yassen sighed. "We can't stay here for a whole story. I'll tell you everything you want to know about your father when we've left, after your training. Now, the gun," Yassen said dangerously.

Alex shook his head and lifted it up. "I'm leaving." He said, and pointed the gun at Yassen in warning, but he left the safety on. This didn't escape Yassen's attention.

Yassen shook his head, sighing, as if he expected that this was going to happen. "If you leave, Alex, you'll be in more danger than you know."

"More danger than when I am around _you_?" Alex said.

Pain flickered in Yassen's eyes. "What more do I have to do to prove that I am no danger to you Alex. I'm trying to help you." He walked forward a few more steps. In response Alex stepped backwards, glaring.

"I'm leaving." Alex said again.

Yassen raised his eyebrows, but Alex just turned and ran, grabbing his jacket and throwing it on mid sprint.

"Alex! Do you want to know about your father? I can tell you a lot."

Alex froze at the door of the dojo. He turned around to Yassen, who hadn't moved, his mouth set in a grim line. He had a gun in his hand, but it was held loosely at his side, probably a reflex reaction to everything unexpected.

"I'm warning you Alex, if you leave Scorpia or M16 will find you, and you're safer with me. You're just a tool to them, Alex, you know as well as I do. Believe or not, I'm here to help you."

Alex stared at Yassen, indecision in his eyes. He desperately wanted to know about his father, and all things aside, Yassen wasn't that bad, it was almost felt like he had a friend he could trust, apart from Tom, Jack and Sabina of course. But Yassen was someone who knew what he'd been through, what his spy life was like.

But more strongly Alex felt the urge to be free. Since Ian had died, he'd been pulled into M16's clutches and he was finally free. He and Yassen would meet again.

With one last almost apologetic glance, Alex turned and ran, ignoring the receptionist's startled glance as he fled through the front entrance.

***

About half a minute later, Yassen walked to the front door. He hadn't bothered to try and catch Alex, or threaten him with a gun again. That would hardly gain his trust; he'd already effectively ruined that in the past, and he would find him easily; hopefully before someone else did.

"Hello, how did your training session go?" The receptionist asked politely.

Yassen fought back a sigh, figuring he couldn't ignore a direct question.

"Fine, thankyou."

The receptionist smiled, relieved to receive a friendly reply from the mysterious man, even if it was a bit cold.

"Well, I hope you and your son return again."

Yassen inclined his head and turned to leave.

"Oh, as I'm sure you noticed your son just about flew out of here. I know teenagers these days!" she laughed nervously, trying to find some common ground, but secretly didn't blame the fair haired boy; she might have run away from this man too. He didn't say anything.

"Well, not to worry, a man who looked alike to you followed him out, was he your brother? He was only a little younger than you."

Yassen spun around. The receptionist looked startled to see the first flickers of emotion on his face, something that looked wrong on the strong man…fear?

"How did we look alike?" Yassen hissed.

"Umm…" the receptionist blushed. "Well, he was…his eyes, and…"

But Yassen was already out the door. She knew what she meant, cold emotionless eyes, muscled, strong and confident; the traits of a Scorpia assassin.

***

Alex was a few blocks away. Now that he was free, he wasn't sure what to do. He desperately wanted to go back to Sabina and Jack, but he would just put them in danger, and M16, Scorpia or Yassen would find him. Three parties wanting him, three groups he didn't want to find him; well, maybe Yassen was the preferred one of the three, he was starting to regret running away, he could have found out about his father; and besides, what was he meant to do now! He stuffed his hood over hid head, shielding his face, and scanned the area, ignoring the curious or wary glances of pedestrians.

He walked past a public phone, and stopped. It wasn't secure, but he had to tell Sabina and Jack he was alive, and ok. It would be tracked, but he would go back to the heart of London as soon as he finished the call; he wouldn't be there when someone came.

He put in some change he'd found deep inside his jacket pocket and dialled his home number. It only rung once before someone answered.

"Hello?" Jack asked breathlessly.

Hearing her voice was like coming up for fresh air. For a moment he was silent, speechless in the desire to be home, so he could be taken care of.

"Alex, is that you?" Jack chocked.

Alex swallowed. "Yea, Jack, it's me."

"ALEX!!!!! Oh my g… I thought you were dead, but then MI6 had video footage of you, and, oh, that wasn't enough, he could have been taking you anywhere to….Alex, we've been going crazy, where are you? Has he still got you?!"

"JACK! Calm down, and let me talk!"

Jack took a deep breathe, and was silent.

"Good. I've escaped, but I can't stay here for long, Scorpia or MI6 might be on their way, and…"

"Wait, MI6? Don't you want them to find you?" Jack asked incredulously.

Alex was silent for a moment. "No, Jack, I don't want them to find me. They can't protect me anymore, and with Scorpia after me I don't want to put anymore agents in danger. I'm safer on my own. I just called to tell you…that I'm ok, and that I'll miss you two. And tell K Unit thanks for everything."

"Alex, I really miss you, where are you going to go?" Jack chocked.

"Until M16 can insure my safety, make some sort of agreement with Scorpia, I'll have to go solo. It won't be long, hopefully. Tell Sabina, that I really miss her, where is she, by the way?" Alex would have thought she would have demanded the phone by now. He was about to feel a bit hurt when Jack replied.

"She's gone out to get some lunch. She didn't want to leave, and she said she wasn't hungry, but we've hardly slept since you were kidnapped. Alex, you have no idea how relieved and happy I am to hear from you. I've been waiting by the phone since then!"

"Thankyou Jack, for caring so much about me, it's a bit rare in this business," Alex sighed sadly, "But don't worry about me, I'll be f…"

Alex trailed off. Standing outside a shop across the street, there was a man, dressed in a trench coat that went down to his waist, jeans and a black top underneath. He blended in, but at the same time it gave him away. It seemed like he was waiting for a taxi, but there was already one there, and as Alex watched him, his eyes flickered towards his. Alex felt his breath catch, he recognised him. He was the man who was in his final week of training at Malagosto, just when Alex had begun his training. He finished top of the class, and had already been on a few successful missions. Alex's heart accelerated in panic, but he kept his face blank and forced himself to think clearly.

"Alex? Alex! What's wrong! What's happening?" Jack said, her voice rising in panic at Alex's silence.

Alex swallowed, and took a deep breathe. "Jack, listen, call M16, tell them to trace this call, and that I need help right away." He whispered to her urgently and quietly.

"Alex, what is it? Is it him?" Jack sounded like she was going to cry, her voice barely a whisper.

"No, it's Scorpia...Yassen isn't who I'm worried about, in fact he…never mind, I need to leave, Jack, I'll call you when I'm ok, or when I can." Alex said as reassuringly as he could.

"Please, Alex, be ok, ok?" Jack said desperately. Despite himself, Alex laughed.

"Sure, Jack. Bye."

Alex hung up, and looked over at the man. He was still reading his newspaper, and didn't even glance his way as Alex left the phone box. Alex started to walk away, drawing his hood as far as it could go over his face. After he'd walked for a couple of metres, he looked back. The man hadn't moved, but Alex knew him, he wasn't reassured.

He was a little further, and he looked behind him again. The man was gone, and he suddenly felt hands grabbing him and throwing him into an alleyway which he'd happened to be passing. Alex gasped as he fell through it and landed painfully on his side.

He heard footsteps in front of him, and looked up. He surveyed the three large muscled Scorpia assassins in fear, but kept his face blank and confident, showing little surprise. He'd realised what had happened; the other assassin was a distraction, whilst the other three waited for him to come to level with them, and throwing him into an alley where no one would see the murder that was about to take place.

He stood up quickly and stepped into a defensive stance, but knew this was not a confrontation he wanted to have. He turned, and saw a fence at the back of the alley, and began to run towards it, using his advantage of being younger and faster to get away, but stopped and swore when he saw the man with the newspaper jump over the fence easily, and started walking towards him. Unlike the other assassins, he was holding a gun. The other three probably had them, but why would they need them, these were four extremely strong Scorpia assassins; and after everything Alex Rider had put Scorpia through, they wouldn't want it to be as quick as a bullet in the head. Alex gritted his teeth in anger. We shall see…

"Hello, Alex Rider, long time no see."

**The one thing I hate is cliff hangers…. Unless it's my story! Ha, ha, don't glare at me like that, I'll update soon! P.S Thanks for all the awesome reviews! And besides, this was my longest chapter and you know it.**

**Happy Valentines Day everyone! Hope there's someone special waiting to give you some flowers or something. For those who prefer to call it "Single's awareness day" this chapter can be your valentine!**

**Oh, and guys, just a reminder that this is ****not a slash****, ok? Soz to those who wanted one, but I never intended it to be and it's not that kind of story. They're friends, in a way… a twisted 'can we get past the fact I killed your uncle and be friends' way lol**

**Luv ya all, next chappy coming snappy! Hmm, maybe I should become a poet… (Silence) fine! Maybe not! REVIEW!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys, thanks for the reviews! Chapter 9 is here! I'm so sorry about how long this one has taken, but it was one of the hardest chapters to write, and it took a lot of thinking and a lot of proofreading and changing!**

**Plus, I've had sooooo many assignments and tests over the last two weeks that I'm surprised I had time to write at all! But I luv this story, it's so fun to do, so I'll admit I put off homework every hour and then!**

**Ok, enough excuses, just read and review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider.**

**_____________________________________________________________________**

"_Hello, Alex Rider, long time no see."_

***

Jack waited anxiously by the phone. The footage of Alex had reassured her that he wasn't dead, sure, but who knows where he was now! Her stomach rumbled, but she ignored it. Sabina had gone out to get some sort of lunch. Sabina hadn't wanted to leave, but grudgingly agreed eventually. She'd been gone for about half an hour, and would be back soon.

Jack jumped as the phone rang, and heart thumping wildly, she grabbed it and held it to her ear breathlessly.

"Hello?" Jack breathed.

Jack froze when no one replied, but heard unsteady, tired breathing on the other side of the line, and knew who it was.

"Alex, is that you!" Jack cried, just able to get the words out. There was another short moment of silence, to long for Jack, when he heard a quiet but controlled voice say;

"Yea, Jack, it's me."

Hearing his voice sent excitement through her, before she remembered the situation.

"ALEX!!!!! Oh my g… I thought you were dead, but then MI6 had video footage of you, and, oh, that wasn't enough, he could have been taking you anywhere to….Alex, we've been going crazy, where are you!" Suddenly, a horrible thought occurred to Jack. "Has he still got you!" She finished frantically before Alex's exasperated voice sounded through the line.

'JACK! Calm down at let me talk!"

Jack, knowing that he probably couldn't stay in one place for long no matter what his situation, shut up, taking a deep breathe but staying quiet.

"Good." Alex said, and he quickly and calmly began to explain in an almost emotionless voice. Jack suppressed a sigh, sometimes he reminded her of Ian, always in control, never losing it.

"I've escaped, but I can't stay here for long," Alex continued, "Scorpia or MI6 might be on their way, and…"

At this, Jack interrupted him. ""Wait, MI6? Don't you want them to find you?" Jack said in confusion. Sure, MI6 didn't give a rat's ass about Alex on missions, but when it came to his safety outside, well, they wouldn't want their precious toy to stop working, would they? Alex seemed to think differently.

He was silent, before Jack got her reply.

"No, Jack, I don't want them to find me. They can't protect me anymore, and with Scorpia after me I don't want to put anymore agents in danger. I'm safer on my own. I just called to tell you…that I'm ok, and that I'll miss you two."

Jack felt her heart swell in sadness. She probably wouldn't be seeing him for a while now, and Jack could barely stand the thought of him out on his own, alone and hunted. How did this happen? He's only fourteen.

"Alex, I really miss you, where are you going to go?" Jack barely got the words out, but did not question his decision. Alex was a spy; he knew what was best for him. Alex replied immediately, probably having already thought it through carefully.

"Until M16 can insure my safety, make some sort of agreement with Scorpia, I'll have to go solo. It won't be long, hopefully. Tell Sabina, that I really miss her, where is she, by the way?"

Jack heard something like hurt in his voice. He disguised it well, but even as a super spy he couldn't hide all his feeling from the woman who'd lived with him for almost nine years. She quickly reassured him.

"She's gone out to get some lunch. She didn't want to leave, and she said she wasn't hungry, but we've hardly slept since you were kidnapped. Alex, you have no idea how relieved and happy I am to hear from you. I've been waiting by the phone since then!" Jack said, almost proud of herself.

"Thankyou Jack, for caring so much about me, it's a bit rare in this business," Alex sighed sadly, "But don't worry about me, I'll be f…"

Alex's voice stopped dead, and it was silent apart from Alex's slightly faster breathing. Jack gripped the phone so hard her knuckles turned white, and felt her stomach roll when Alex's breathe caught in horror. Jack couldn't stand it.

"Alex? Alex! What's wrong! What's happening?" Jack cried, hardly able to breath.

There was another excruciating moment of silence before she heard Alex take a deep, steadying breathe.

"Jack, listen, call M16, tell them to trace this call, and that I need help right away." Alex whispered urgently, his voice calm and controlled, as always.

Jack knew she should have hung up and called for help straight away, but she couldn't help it. She knew what this might mean; Yassen Gregorovich had found him. Tears sprang to my eyes at the thought.

"Alex, what is it? Is it him?" Jack knew she didn't have to whisper, but she did anyway.

Alex replied quickly. "No, it's Scorpia."

Jack felt what little blood that was left in her face rush out. Which one was worse, weren't they both the same?

Alex continued talking. "Yassen isn't who I'm worried about, in fact he…never mind." Alex said quickly. Jack wanted to question him on that cryptic remark, but knew there was no time.

Alex's voice was slightly more urgent than before, obviously desperate to be away. "I need to leave, Jack, I'll call you when I'm ok, or when I can." He finished in a voice that was meant to be reassuring, but all Jack could think about was waiting by the phone sick with worry until she received a call to say 'oh, yea, I'm not dead.' Jack shuddered.

"Please, Alex, be ok, ok?" Jack pleaded desperately. On the other side of the line, Alex laughed, though it was strained.

"Sure, Jack, bye."

Jack held the phone to her, listing to the dial tone, feeling the horror rush over her. She didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. With that, reality hit her. She didn't hang up the phone, in case MI6 wouldn't be able to trace the number, and instead took out her mobile and dialled a very special number.

It rang once, before a calm woman's voice answered.

"Miss Starbright."

"Mrs. Jones!" Jack could hardly keep the panic out of her voice.

"What is it?" She said emotionlessly, but Jack could hear something like fear in her voice, or maybe Jack had just imagined it.

"It's Alex." Jack said with a small sob. She could hardly think straight, let alone get the words she knew she had to get out quickly.

"What has happened?" Mrs. Jones said, and this time Jack was sure she heard panic there.

Just then, Sabina came through the door with two bags in her hand, looking glum. She closed the door and when she saw Jack's face, all colour left hers and her mouth dropped open. Jack saw her, but couldn't think about Sabina right then.

"He just called me!" She replied to Mrs. Jones, words gushing out and she realised she was crying. "He's got away from Gregorovich, but as we were talking, he stopped suddenly and then told me that Scorpia had found him and he needed to go but to get you to his position right away…" Jack trailed off with another sob.

There was a small pause, and Mrs. Jones said quickly. "We're tracing the call as we speak, K Unit are leaving now, as well as another two stand by units; I will accompany them, and we'll try to get to Alex before…before he has to fight anyone off himself."

Jack knew she was humouring her. She meant before he was killed. Jack closed her eyes, and said in a shaky voice. "Hurry."

Jack listened again to the dial tone on her phone, and hung up both phones she'd used in the last five minutes. She turned to Sabina, whose face was deathly white, and she was shaking.

"Jack," she whispered, horror in her voice. "What do we do?"

Jack stared at her in defeat for a moment.

"We wait."

***

Alex stared at the man who was now only a few metres away. Alex sighed, pushing back the fear of being trapped in an alleyway with four strong Scorpia assassins and smirked, acting like he always did in these situations.

"Hey Walker, long time no see, though I can't say I'm glad to…at all." Alex sneered, turning sideways so that he could see all of his attackers clearly.

He'd trained with Walker, who had been with the CIA for 5 years before deciding he'd get more money by working for the other side. And what he said was true. He really didn't like being reminded of his time with Scorpia, and it was extremely unpleasant to see any of his fellow trainees after betraying them.

It wasn't like Walker had been unpleasant. He was probably about twenty-five now, but unlike the SAS didn't seem to feel any aversion to Alex because of his age, in fact none of them did. But still, at the back of his mind, he always knew that behind their smiles, there was the knowledge that if they had been asked to kill Alex as an assignment, none of them would have hesitated.

Walker's face was cold as he raised his eyebrows, and smiled. "And where is your protector? I'd never thought _Yassen Gregorovich_ as a traitor, but when Alex Rider is involved, you never know, do you?"

Alex said nothing, waiting for the first attack, tensed and ready, glaring at the man.

"Not talkative today, Alex?" suddenly his eyes were blazing. "You turned against Scorpia! You betrayed us! I will enjoy killing you, and then I will find Mr. Gregorovich and do the same!"

_You have a gun, don't show them until you have to, because they'll take out their guns and you won't stand a chance. Look hopeless, look like a child…_ Alex thought, slumping his shoulders as if he felt defeated by what Walker was saying.

Walker sneered. "Yes, Rider, you should be very afraid, because I won't just shoot you, we'll beat you to death. After everything we did for you…" Walker shook his head, almost regretfully.

Alex felt the first twinges of fear as Walker signalled for the three men behind him to attack. Alex turned towards them, playing the part and cowering in fear. The man closest grinned evilly and swung a punch. Alex was ready.

Alex blocked upwards with his right arm, grabbing and twisting the man's hand around quickly until he heard it snap. The assassin howled in pain, and Alex quickly brought his fist around to the side of his head. The henchman crumbled to the ground and lay still. _One down, three bulky, Scorpia trained, gun carrying men to go._

The remaining two attacked at the same time, not underestimating him now, realising his 'quivering' was just an act. One of them grabbed his shirt with two hands whilst the other one threw a punch to his head. Alex ducked the punch with some effort whilst in the other agent's grasp and the man's fist connected with his 'friends' arm.

The man's grip tightened in pain, and in anger threw Alex with as much force as possible into the alley wall. Alex groaned in pain as his shoulder dislocated and the back of his head began to bleed.

Out of the corner of Alex's eye, Walker was looking on with confident amusement, though his eyes flickered in anger at the unconscious assassin on the ground.

Alex didn't spend time waiting for someone to fuss over his injuries, because he knew no one would. He immediately went back into action. The two men were charging forward, and Alex jumped as high as he could, using one leg for each of them and kicking towards their abdomen. Alex landed skilfully on his feet as they doubled over in pain. Using their momentary lapse in concentration, he spun round in _moroshi geri_, roundhouse kick, contacting with the neck of the left assassin. He gasped in surprise, and sank to his knees. Alex followed with a backhand punch to the face and he crumpled to the ground too.

The third man looked at Alex with new eyes, fear on his face. Walker was staring with wide eyes at two of Scorpia's most talented assassins on the ground, wondering how a boy had brought two of them down. He'd been told about Alex, about his missions, and he'd even seen how skilled he was when he trained with him. Yet he really didn't think that Rider could take down that many almost unscathed. His hand twitched towards his gun. But he stopped. He wanted the brat's death to be painful, and the remaining assassin was good, the boy was injured and if by some miracle he won, M16's top spy didn't have a gun, and he did. He would shoot him. He smirked, watching the last fight.

Alex tensed himself, switching to defence, as this assassin was much larger than the others. The momentary fear on the man's face was gone, replaced with ignorant confidence. The boy's reputation preceded him, but now he knew what to expect. He was in pain, and looked forward to killing the spy.

The assassin brought down his fist to the boy's head. Alex crossed his hands upwards, knowing they would bruise as they took the blow. The man immediately followed with a kick to the groin, but Alex jumped to the side and used a hook punch to try and knock him out. Alex realised as he blocked it easily with his hand that he was facing a martial arts master. Following the block, he punched Alex in the face and the young spy stumbled backwards, spitting out blood. Alex felt for any missing teeth with his tongue, but everything appeared intact.

The spy swallowed in fear, and took another step back, preparing himself for the next attack. It came very quickly; the man spun round and kicked Alex in the side. Alex doubled over, the wind knocked out of him, but didn't stop and ran forward in his crouch, contacting with all his strength to the man's stomach. He gasped, and Alex kneed him in the groin, not waiting for him to recover. The man howled in pain, falling to his knees.

Why Walker wasn't shooting him? The realization made him feel sick; even if he won, he'd just be shot. Some of the energy drained out of him at the thought, the situation was hopeless; but he couldn't give up, he had to keep going.

Alex was about to deliver a punch to his head when the man in fury brought out a knife and slashed it across his stomach. It would have gone right in if Alex hadn't jumped back at the last second, and luckily it wasn't too deep, but did start to bleed immediately. The assassin stabbed him again; annoyed he'd missed, in the shoulder. Alex cried out in horror and pain and stumbled back to the wall, sliding to the ground and clutching his stomach, which was still bleeding and looking at the knife in his shoulder, feeling sick.

The man was still crouched in pain, but with effort he stood up, pure fury and triumph on his face. Alex felt defeated; the pain was excruciating, and his hoodie was already soaked with blood, the wounds having already soaked through the shirt.

"Well, Alex, it seems you have lost." Walker laughed.

Alex ignored him, and turned back to his attacker. "What, thought you couldn't beat me without any weapons; cowardly, but understandable, seeing as how you were losing." Alex smirked at the assassin mockingly, raising his eyebrows, but his voice had been strained in pain. The assassin's face twisted in fury, and looked like he would have wanted to kill Alex right there and then, but instead he turned towards Walker for instructions.

Alex wouldn't wait for that to happen. Ignoring the men, he gasped in pain as he took out the knife, and stood up shakily, holding it in his hand. He lunged forward weakly, and taking the man who had stabbed him by surprise slashed him in the arm. Alex was aiming for the chest, but the assassin was quick and moved to the side, but couldn't avoid the attack completely. He howled in pain, and spun his fist into Alex's chest.

Alex yelled, and despite himself crumbled to the ground, dropping the knife and clutching his chest. The assassin picked him up by his hair, and smashed his face into the wall. Alex groaned and felt blood trickling down his face and his lip split open. Up against the wall, Alex kicked his right leg behind him and contacted with the man's leg.

In pain the man's grip loosened, and Alex brought his hands up to the sides of his face, spinning round and grabbing the man's hands at the same time, twisting them and tried to break them like he did the other agent.

But unexpectedly the assassin head butted him, and Alex stumbled back, clutching his face. Stars exploded in front of his eyes, and dark spots clouded his vision. He sunk to the ground, all the fight drained out of him in pain.

Even if he won this fight, Walker, who was enjoying the show, would shoot him. He couldn't win, Alex thought in despair. Yet suddenly, he remembered something that gave him new hope.

The assassins face was consorted with fury. He picked the knife off the ground, and plunged forward. Alex knew he was about to pass out, but allowed himself one small twitch of his finger. Yassen's gun fired once through the fabric of his shirt, and the assassin stopped. His eyes widened, and he fell to his knees, dropping the knife. He clutched his stomach, and fell to the ground, unmoving.

Walker stared in shock, eyes wide, mouth open. The boy slumped lower on the ground, groaning, and gave a small gasp as the movement pulled at one of his injuries. He looked like he was second's away form passing out.

But in his hand, held limply, was a hand gun, ones mostly used amongst Scorpia agents. On the ground, his best assassin laid dead or dying, blood leaking around his hands. The other two were knocked out cold.

How did a boy beat three Scorpia assassins!? They had been warned to treat him as if he were an adult, that he was M16's most highly ranked agent. We didn't need telling twice, everyone hated him; he'd destroyed and humiliated Scorpia. Alex Rider; he was famous.

Any ordinary boy would have brought out the gun as soon as the men approached. But not Alex Rider, he kept it hidden, waiting for the right moment to use it, knowing that as soon as he revealed his hand, he would be shot. Walker snarled in anger and took his gun out. Enough games, the boy will die with a bullet in his chest.

Alex, hearing the man's frustrated cry, turned his head pathetically towards him. The last standing assassin held the gun at his side and walked towards Alex until he was a metre away. His eyes were cold and furious.

"Well, Alex Rider, I must say I'm impressed. But even you won't survive a bullet."

Alex, without hesitation, brought Yassen's gun up, mustering all his remaining strength, and pointed it at Walker's head.

"If you so much as blink I'll shoot you." Alex snarled, but his voice was faint and showed the pain he felt. His shoulder and stomach wound was still bleeding a lot, and his dislocated shoulder was throbbing. Blood still trickled down from the cuts on his face, and the gash in the back of his head. He'd put up an amazing fight, and unlike his opponents _he _was still conscious. His eyes flickered towards to man he had shot, and he felt guilt course through him. _I had to do it_ Alex thought.

Walker looked at him in amusement. "Will you shoot me, Alex? I don't think you can kill me, do you?"

"You thought wrong." The spy said angrily.

"Go ahead, then, shoot me, do it now. You know you must if you want to stay alive."

Alex stared at him, willing himself to pull the trigger, like he had a minuet ago with the other assassin. But he hadn't done that in cold blood like he was about too. He imagined the bullet firing out, bursting into the man's head. He hated him, but he couldn't do it.

Walker smiled. "You can't, can you?"

Alex snarled. "Of course I can. I was trained by Scorpia. I'm a good shot; this is what they trained me to do."

Walker shook his head, almost sympathetically. "You already feel guilty about him." He inclined his head toward the man on the ground.

"He was about to kill me."

"I'm about to kill you."

Alex stared at Walker. What was wrong with him, he was about to die yet he wouldn't kill an assassin who had already killed innocent people, and would do so in the future.

As Alex thought, to his shock, Walker brought up his gun quickly and fired Alex's own gun out of his hand. The force sprained his wrist, and he bit his lip, not wanting to show anymore weakness. But more importantly the gun flew off behind him, smacking against the alley wall. Alex stared at his empty hand, and then at the gun now pointing at his heart. He'd lost his chance. He'd been weak and stupid and now he was going to die for it.

"Well, Alex Rider, it seems your luck as run out."

Suddenly, all the energy Alex had, every last bit of hope and strength drained out of him. He slumped even lower to the ground, ignoring the pain and clutched his stomach, because that was all he had to hold on to, himself.

"FINE! Go ahead." Alex yelled at Walker. Alex wanted to live, of course, but he no longer had the will power to fight for his life. He just wanted to rest. Sure, he'd prefer a good sleep in his home with Jack there to look after him but that wasn't going to happen. Walker stared at him, surprise flickered in his eyes.

Alex sneered at him. "M16, you, Scorpia, you're only here to ruin my life! And I give up, all I ever wanted was to go to school, hang out with my friends, who by the way, think I'm a freak who takes drugs, and play football! And it would be nice not to have to worry about going on missions that will probably get me killed." Alex shook his head, feeling the dizziness again, and he could feel his consciousness slipping, and lay on the dirty alley floor, blinking, and his eyes grew heavy, and he waited for death.

Walker continued to stare at the boy, realising how much he'd just learnt about the fourteen year old spy. He was one of the best, John Rider's son indeed, but he was reluctant, he didn't want to be here, he didn't want to be a spy. He felt a small twinge of pity, before his slightly open mouth turned into a sneer. He should have thought about that long ago, the stupid brat has it coming. He brought up his gun, smirking.

"Any last words, Rider?"

Alex laughed mockingly, and his voice was hoarse. "What James Bond film did you steal _that_ line from?" Alex laughed cruelly again, not looking up at the assassin or the cold barrel of the gun.

Walker's face consorted in fury, and he aimed the gun. "Goodbye Alex Rider."

A gun shot rang through the air.

**Haha, hope you liked this chap, next one coming to a fan fiction near you! Lol. Thankyou to all my reviewers, you definitely inspired me to keep writing. Please review! And I'll get the next chapter out quicker.**

**Luv y'all**

**Bookworm rider**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys, chap 10 is here! Wow, I feel really proud, ten chapters, two digit number!!!!! Thanks so much for the suggestions and reviews, they really helped me shape the chapters.**

**AGAIN I'm so sorry about how long this chapter took, but I just finished exam block! Argghh that was a nightmare, I'm talking chem, bio, maths and English tests!**

**I got the results back today, and I went sooooooo bad! Honestly, I've never gone this bad in an exam before, and in my deflated, crying, hope my parents don't find out state I decided to post this chappy to make me feel better!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider**

"_Goodbye, Alex Rider."_

_A shot ran through the air._

Alex closed his eyes, not even jumping at the familiar sound of a gun going off. But he did notice vaguely when the feeling of red hot metal didn't burrow itself into his chest, and mustered up all his energy to look up at Walker. He had no time to be shocked, no energy to care or feel disgusted or relieved as Walker clutched his chest, blood spurting through his hands as he fell to the ground and laid still, a pool spreading underneath him.

Alex heard footsteps as someone ran towards him.

"Alex. Can you hear me?" Yassen said, concern in his voice, lifting the spy's head of the ground, and frowning when he felt blood at the back of his head. His shoulder was at an odd angle, blood was coming out of a deep knife wound in his shoulder, and he warily noticed that Alex's hand was clutching his stomach. His hair was matted with dirt and blood, and his clothes were soaked with both. His face was swollen and completely white under all the forming bruises.

Alex heard Yassen speaking, but the words were far away, and seemed to echo through his head. Alex willed himself to pass out, but the peace seemed just out of his grasp.

Yassen ripped the bottom of his shirt off without effort and tied it firmly around the wound on Alex's shoulder, which seemed to be the worst, though it superficial and not very deep. The spy groaned in pain, but didn't open his eyes. The other shoulder was the dislocated one, and Yassen suppressed a sigh, knowing what he had to do, and also knowing that Alex wouldn't like it.

"Alex, I'm going to pop your shoulder back into place." Yassen said, wondering if he could hear him. Yassen sighed, and leant forward. Without pausing he quickly snapped Alex's shoulder back into place, looking on grimly as the boy stiffened and a small groan left his lips quietly, as if he didn't have energy for anything else.

Yassen sighed looking around at the three men on the ground in front of Alex and chuckled humorously. They should have thought twice before attacking Alex Rider. One had blood pooling from his stomach, and he was suddenly glad that Alex had stolen the gun. Alex was lucky to survive. Yassen stared at the now semi-unconscious spy, and smiled slightly. He was truly John Rider's son.

Yassen heard sirens close by. He had anticipated this; MI6 would be listening for anything that could lead them to their golden boy. He could escape with Alex, but decided to leave it to him from now on. He slipped something into Alex's pocket, and the spy tensed, the slightest movement poking at the instincts that had saved his life times before.

"Keep that hidden." Yassen muttered.

The boy said nothing, his eyes closed, but his head gave a small hardly noticeable nod of understanding. Yassen nodded himself and stood up. He went and leaned against the fence that Walker had jumped over, waiting for the agents to come before he left. He watched Alex as the spy lay on the ground, eyes closed and breathing heavily. Suddenly, his eyelids fluttered open, probably sensing someone watching him, because he turned to Yassen.

"Whatss goin'on?" he slurred, before falling silent.

"MI6 are coming." Yassen said simply.

Alex was staring at the sky that had the occasional white cloud circling it. The pain he felt was in his eyes. "Shouldn't we leave then?" Alex said quietly, his voice slightly stronger, but still looking like it was a huge effort to talk.

Yassen surveyed him, concern just showing in his pale blue eyes. "I can't help more than I have with your injuries. It's better this way. But if you still want my help later, then use what I gave you." Yassen didn't elaborate, and Alex was too tired to ask more questions. Instead, he closed his eyes again, taking deep breathes and clutching his stomach a little tighter. Yassen frowned, before spotting a gun on the floor, and noticing a Y on the handle. He picked it up before returning to his place on the fence.

Seconds later Mrs. Jones and other agents came pouring into the alley, and Yassen recognised some as Alex's previous body guards. They pointed their guns at Yassen. There were four of them, not including Mrs. Jones at the front.

Alex heard shouts, followed by footsteps and guns cocking, but he didn't look up, just tried to keep his breathing steady.

"CUB!" Someone gasped, and Alex recognised with some dismay the Scottish accent. He groaned quietly. _Not them!_

"Shit!" Wolf swore, worry layering his voice as he spied Alex on the ground, unmoving.

"Cub, can you hear me?" Someone said softly…Eagle.

"No, he's not…" Fox gasped.

"No, no I think he's breathing." Mrs Jones said.

There was a moment when no one spoke, no one moved, then suddenly.

"Gregorovich, put your hands on your head and get down on your knees." Mrs. Jones said in a business, emotionless voice, but her eyes flickered in concern to the beaten boy at his feat, and then widened as she looked at the mess of Scorpia agents on the ground, unable to tell whose side everyone was on.

"You heard her Gregorovich." Wolf yelled angrily, aiming his gun at Yassen.

Yassen just stared at them, a slightly amused expression on his face.

"Prepare to fire on my command, don't hit Rider." Mrs Jones yelled.

Alex heard this, and his eye fluttered open. "No, don't shoot him…" Alex trailed off, his body going limper if possible.

"What did he just say?" Snake said incredulously. No one answered, staring at the boy.

"Cub, are you alright?" Fox yelled, trying to get the boy's attention.

"Well that's a stupid question, look at him!" Wolf growled, eying snake angrily.

Alex looked sideways at Yassen, who was staring at him. Alex spoke up. "He's helped me, don't shoot."

Everyone stared at Alex in complete shock. "Cub…" Fox began.

But as he said this, Yassen raised his hands, but not in the way they'd wanted, and plunged himself over the fence with the grace of a ballet dancer, and bounded round a corner just as, despite Alex's request, K Unit spat bullets out after him. One of them grazed his arm, though Yassen didn't even flinch as blood began to run.

Snake, the team medic, stayed behind with Mrs. Jones to care for Alex, whilst the three remaining agents ran after Yassen without hesitation.

But they wouldn't find him…if Yassen Gregorovich didn't want to be found, he was unlikely to be.

Snake ran to Alex's side, stepping over and looking slightly disgusted, the pool of blood that had covered that part of the alley way, Walker laying still and white on the ground. Alex knew he was dead. Mrs Jones took out her radio and started talking into it, but Alex didn't really listen.

"Cub?" Snake said, his voice layered with worry. Alex had been staring at the spot Yassen had been, as if not bothering to look anywhere else, and winced, looking back at Snake, and smiled ever so slightly.

"Hey Snake, Mrs Jones," he said indifferently, like they were meeting for lunch, though his voice was quiet and weak. Snake rolled his eyes at the boy, and started to work over him busily.

"What did they do to you." He murmured as he first inspected his bruising, swollen and bloody face. Alex shrugged, and winced when it tugged at the knife wound in his shoulder. Snake's eyes flashed to it, and he went pale, swearing under his breath.

Without speaking, he reached into his bag and took out a large pare of scissors, but before he could do anything, Alex remembered something, and grabbed his arm. Snake froze, staring at him.

"Snake, I need you to do something for me." Alex whispered, eying Mrs. Jones warily, who was now talking into her cell phone, probably to Blunt.

Snake eyed him curiously, frowning. "What is it Cub?"

With another nervous glance at Mrs. Jones, Alex took a slip of paper from his pocket, looking at it curiously before giving it to Snake. It was a number. Snake looked at it in bewilderment, before Alex folded his hand over it.

"Please, Snake, don't ask any questions, when I'm better, give it back to me, but don't look at the number, and don't tell anyone about it." Alex said. He really didn't want to give it to snake, but he still felt dizzy and knew he was only barely holding on to consciousness, and he also felt a little nauseous too. Maybe he had a concussion…either way; he couldn't chance someone else getting their hands on it why he was unconscious.

Snake stared at him. "Cub, who..."

"Please Snake, just trust me on this."

Snake opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Mrs. Jones, who began to walk over to them. "Alex, I just filled in Blunt on the situation, he hopes your ok." Mrs Jones said, kneeling next to Snake, looking at Alex in concern.

Alex snorted. "Yea, sure, he's real concerned."

Snake didn't say anything. He was frowning, but with relief Alex saw him pocket the piece of paper. He then lifted a large pair of scissors up, and Alex eyed it warily. Snake grinned, but it was slightly strained.

"Don't worry Cub; I'm not using it on you."

Alex look of relief turned to horror as Snake started cutting off his hoodie and top. He didn't want them to see all his scars; they were bound to raise questions.

"WHAT do you think your doing?" Alex yelped, painfully slapping the scissors away. Snake looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and disapproval.

"What, Cub, have something to hide?" Eagle said, his voice mocking but his face looking worryingly at the bloody mess that was the fifth and youngest member of his team.

Alex watched in dismay as the rest of K Unit came jumping over the fence, not as gracefully as Yassen but just like a solider that had done it many times at training would. Great, Alex thought, an audience.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but the other two units suggested we stay behind in case any of these clowns wake up," Wolf said, eying the fallen Scorpia agents sceptically before turning back and looking warily at Alex. "B and C Unit caught up with us almost straight away, they'd heard the gunshots. We followed some spots of blood here and there, but eventually the trail went blank. The guys like a freaking ghost, but they're searching." Wolf said annoyance in his voice.

Mrs Jones sighed, but nodded.

"So Cub, what happened, tell us everything." Fox said, knelling beside Snake, who began to cut off his hoodie. Alex glared at him.

"That's my favourite hoodie." Alex muttered, turning his glare to the sky.

Snake rolled his eyes. "Trying to get your top off without cutting it wouldn't be a pleasant experience for you Cub, trust me."

Fox looked like he was about to press Alex for information when his breathe caught, to Alex's dismay turning everyone's attention back on him. They stared at his chest, which had a huge knife wound cutting across it from where Walker's goon had slashed him, but there were also fading burns all over his chest from his Scorpia mission, along with quite a few other scars. They were all silent for a moment.

"Guys, I know I'm pretty and all, but you're being a bit obvious about it." Alex began, trying to make light of it all; he was ignored.

"Shit, Cub what have you been doing." Wolf asked, his voice angry. Alex sighed.

"Yea, I knew you had a reputation and all, but how many missions have you been on!" Eagle said incredulously.

Alex shifted uncomfortably, and Mrs Jones looks at him sympathetically.

"Doesn't matter." Alex muttered.

"The heck it does." Wolf growled.

"It's none of your business!" Alex retorted hotly.

"We're a team, we're meant to ask questions!" Wolf yelled back.

"How did you get this one?" Snake asked curiously, pointing to the longest one that was just underneath the new one.

Alex couldn't help but grin slightly. "Some bastard chucked me into a ring with a bull."

They all stared at him like he'd just spoken another language.

"Umm…what?" Eagle said and Alex couldn't help but laugh at look on his face

"Let's just say Yassen gets pretty pissed off when you hold a gun to his head." Alex said.

Eagle's jaw dropped. "He made you fight a bull!" he said in a disgusted and shocked tone.

Mrs Jones stared at Alex in shock. "I knew you threatened to kill him, but you didn't tell me he did that!"

"Wait, again, he made you fight a bull!" Eagle repeated.

"Hold up, I thought he wasn't that crazy about getting you killed an all." Wolf said in confusion.

Alex stared at K Unit. "How did you know that, as far as you're concerned I should be dead," Alex said, eyes narrowing.

K Unit shifted uncomfortably, and Mrs Jones coughed. Alex turned his glare to her. "What did you tell them about me." He hissed.

Mrs Jones sighed. "Alex, I just told them about your history with Yassen; how…he," she cleared her throat, and Alex's eyes narrowed. "How he killed you uncle, and your meetings with him, and his history with your father."

Alex glared at her, "So, basically everything?"

Mrs Jones shifted uncomfortably again, and K Unit looked guilty.

"Alex, it was necessary, they needed to know why Yassen was unlikely to kill you…"

"What else have you been told about me that was _necessary_? He said, looking at K Unit. "You already knew that I joined Scorpia and that was definitely something I might've wanted to keep to myself, so what else?"

"Cub, relax, it's not like we know what your favourite teddy bear to sleep with is." Fox said, with a smirk. "We just know you've been on a few assignments since Breacon Breacons, but nothing about them, oh, except Point Blanc, Wolfy here told us about that."

Wolf glared at Fox for adding a 'y' to his codename, but Alex's annoyed look at Wolf made him smile sheepishly, and shrug. "We don't keep secrets with in our units." He said simply.

Alex sighed, and decided to play his teenager role for once. "Whatever."

Snake sighed too, bringing out a needle and thread. Alex's eyes widened. "No way."

Snake looked at him, eyebrows raised. "You've been stabbed and shot at but you're afraid of stiches?" Eagle laughed in the background, Wolf smirked whilst Alex turned red.

"No, it's just the whole bloody ridiculous concept of it. You're going to use string to keep me from bleeding to death; I mean, think about it, it's really stupid."

Fox grinned. "I just think you're afraid."

Alex glared at the man, before shrugging. "Fine, Snake, go ahead."

Snake smirked, and brought the needle to the bleeding gash on his stomach. Alex tensed, face twisted in disgust, just as paramedics came pouring into the alley way.

"We're here to take Agent Rider back to MI6 that is correct?" One of them said, whilst Mrs Jones nodded her consent; Alex on the other hand, stared warily.

"Wait, shouldn't you take me to the hospital or something?" he said weakly, imagining Mrs Jones supporting his bloody form into Blunts office were he'd be told that he was to go on another mission in this state. Mrs Jones smiled reassuringly.

"Relax Alex; we have a private medical facility in part of the bank. We don't want you going to a normal hospital whilst you're being hunted by Scorpia… and Yassen.

Why did everyone keep telling him to relax!

However, Alex was surprised that MI6 had a medical facility, yet then again, he knew he shouldn't be, they would have just about anything in the 'bank.' The paramedics saved Alex from Snake's needle, and lifted him onto a gurney. The motion pulled at his injuries and Alex felt the familiar dizziness return to him. Finally, he gratefully passed out, K Unit watching him anxiously in the background.

***

Alex woke up to the sound of Eagle yelping in surprise, followed by a large crash. His eyes flew open, just in time to see Wolf standing with his fists clenched, a murderous look on his face, Eagle trying to get up off the floor with the table he'd crashed into lying on top of him, and Snake and Fox looking on with amused expressions on their faces.

"Wolf, you really do have a bit of a temper, don't you, it was just a joke!" Eagle exclaimed, finally managing to get to his feet. No one had noticed Alex watching them warily.

"It wasn't funny! Say another thing about my sister and her hotness level and you'll be walking with a limp for the rest of you life, you got it!?"

"Good gosh it's like a bloody circus in here." Alex said, deciding to make his conscious state known. Everyone turned in surprise and Eagle smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry Cub, did we wake you?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "What do you think?"

Wolf sighed, and sat back down on a chair near Alex's bed, eying the youngest member of his unit warily. "You right Cub?"

Alex frowned, not actually sure yet. He didn't really feel much at all, and suspected he was on pain killers. "Don't really know, to tell you the truth, I think they've drugged me up."

Snake nodded. "Your injuries wouldn't have been fun to wake up too."

Alex winced. "Yea, guess not. Still, I hate pain killers."

Wolf raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and you use them often."

Alex stiffened slightly, and shrugged, looking away.

"Cub?" Fox said.

Alex sighed. "What?"

"Seriously, all those scars, can't you tell us a bit about you missions?"

"Yes, I could, doesn't mean I will." Alex said.

"Awwww come on Cub, why not?" Eagle said in a whiny voice.

Alex looked away. "No."

"How many missions have you been on, exactly?" Eagle pressed.

Alex sighed. Lack of sleep under anything but either a tranquiliser dart or being so beaten up that he passed out was really getting to him, he just wanted to sleep.

"I guess about five…or six if you're counting the one for Scorpia, but that didn't go very well." Alex frowned, remembering that unfortunate day in Mrs. Jones's flat.

It took Alex a second to realise K Unit were staring at him in shock. "What! You already knew I joined Scorpia."

Wolf shook his head in bewilderment. "We knew you trained with them, but a mission…wait, as an assassin?" Wolf's eyes widened.

Alex looked at Eagle. "You never did tell me who you killed Cub. We were interrupted by an unwanted guest." He said, frowning and touching his swollen and purple bruise subconsciously.

Snake gasped. "Cub you…you assassinated someone?"

They all stared at Alex, who looked away frowning. "Can't we talk about this later, it's complicated…"

"No way, Cub, spill." Wolf growled. Alex rubbed his tired eyes, annoyed. Seeing as how they woke him up, it was the least they could do to shut up and let him get back to it.

"I trained with them because…ugh, never mind, that's an even longer story, but after a while they realised I lacked the, er, what you'd call, I guess, the killer instinct." Alex began, not really sure how to explain, and definitely not liking the way they were staring at him. Alex sighed, trying to think under the haze of pain killers.

"Go on Cub." Fox said, eyeing him intently.

Alex made a sound of frustration. "Just wait a second…well, at the beginning they showed me a tape of my father being killed by MI6." Alex, despite knowing it had been fake, still shuddered at the memory. K Unit looked at him, surprised. They assumed his parents had died, the way Mrs. Jones had talk about Yassen and his father 'once' being friends, and they'd met his guardian, but by MI6, that didn't add up.

"WOW, hold on, MI6 killed your father!" Eagle said incredulously.

"No, I was tricked into thinking that at the time but it was actually Scorpia who killed them." Alex said, his eyes darkening.

"Sorry Cub." Snake muttered sympathetically. Alex shrugged.

"Doesn't matter, the important thing is I saw who ordered the kill, and Scorpia thought that for my first kill, I could get my revenge, and…" Alex frowned, slightly ashamed of himself, "I guess I wanted to, at the time."

K Unit stared at him. "And did you?" Wolf asked, a certain strain in his voice.

Alex looked away from them, eyes dark and dangerous. "No."

K Unit suppressed their sighs of relief. "And that's why they're trying to kill you now? We were just told that Scorpia was after you because you joined and then betrayed them, we didn't actually know what you did." Fox said curiously.

Alex laughed humourlessly. "No, that's another story, about how my parents really died…and I'm definitely not telling it right now. I'm going to sleep." Alex yawned, and turned away from K Unit, feeling their stares.

"Umm, Cub?" Eagle said. Alex groaned, but ignored him.

'Cuuuubbbb?" He sang.

Alex turned eyes murderous. "WHAT!" he hissed.

Eagle grinned, whilst the rest of K Unit shook their heads at him. "Who were you ordered to kill?"

Alex stiffened visibly, before relaxing and shrugged. "Mrs. Jones."

Eagle's jaw dropped, and Alex grinned, turning away and finally getting some sleep.

***

Alex woke again, this time from the door banging open and someone yelling.

"ALEX!!!!!!"

Alex's eyes flew open to be greeted by a mass of red hair blinding him. He yelped.

"JACK! Calm down! Ouch, I'm OK!"

Jack was sobbing, and wouldn't let go.

"Alex, I thought after the phone call that you didn't stand a chance, you sounded so frightened on the phone, and you're never scared, and I knew that was a horrible sign, and then MI6 called _hours_ after they find you, more than bloody happy to leave me worried sick at home! I'm going to kill them, Alex I really am, not just for that, but for…"

"JACK! You're adding to my injuries, really, I'm ok, just a knife wound here and there." He said, grinning at her as she pulled back.

"That would have been funny if it wasn't true Alex." She said, glaring at him, whilst he grinned sheepishly. But no sooner had Jack let go off him had Sabina, who he hadn't realized was there until now, jumped into his arms in an equally bone crushing hug.

"Alex, we've been worried sick!" she whispered. Alex patted her on the back.

"Sab, really, I'm fine."

She drew back and kissed him, before she stepped away with a grin. "I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to do that again."

Some one laughed in the background, and Alex turned red when he realised K Unit were watching, trying to stifle their laughs, even Wolf. Eagle was mouthing something to him, his thumbs up, winking at Alex. Alex averted his gaze, and grinned at Sabina. "That's definitely the best thing that's happened over the last few days." He said with a laugh. Sabina grinned, and took an empty seat next to his bed.

"Considering what's happened to you, that's not really saying much. So what's going to happen now?" She said.

Alex frowned, and turned back to K Unit, who were looking serious again. Alex raised his eyebrows in question.

Wolf sighed. "I hate to ruin the happy moment, but we've talked to Blunt, and apparently Scorpia is not backing down just yet. They refuse to make any sort of agreement with MI6, they think they still have the upper hand. Capturing/Killing their best agents didn't get you back on their good side, in fact their angrier than before."

Alex groaned. "So what are we going to do?"

Jack and Sabina watched apprehensively, the new information not sitting very well with them.

Snake answered his question. "The heads are coming down now to talk with us, apparently they've got a plan." He said this with a bit of anger in his voice, and Alex raised his eyebrows.

"You know what it is, don't you?" Alex said suspiciously.

Snake stared guiltily at him for a moment. "Well, not all of it, but Cub just wait for them to explain, ok?"

Alex frowned but nodded, just as Mrs Jones and Blunt walked into the room. Mrs Jones surveyed the room warily.

"Well, it's certainly crowded in here." She said.

Alex smiled. "Hey, I can't help it if I'm loved."

K Unit snickered, Sabina and Jack laughed, Mrs Jones's mouth twitched slightly and Blunt, of course, remained emotionless.

"Alex, you're still in a lot of danger, we've thought about it, and decided the best course of action." Blunt said, ignoring the uncomfortable looking K Unit. Alex narrowed his eyes at them in question, but then turned back to Blunt with an uneasy feeling.

"I'm not going to like it, am I?" he said glumly.

Blunt shrugged indifferently. "Depends on how you look at it Alex. We've decided London is a bit too dangerous for you now. So we're going to instead send you back to the South of France, where you stayed with Miss Pleasure here before that…unfortunate incident with Mr. Gregorovich."

Sabina's eyes narrowed and Alex looked at Blunt suspiciously. "It's not for a holiday, is it?"

Blunt coughed uncomfortably. "Well, we believe that a drug shipment is going to go down somewhere on the docks in the very town you stayed in. It's just a surveillance mission, K Unit will be accompanying you as back up and also as your body guards against Scorpia, under the event that they find out where you are."

Alex stared at them before replying acidly. "I don't want to go on another bloody mission for you Blunt. I've told you time and time again, I don't want to be a spy. Why is it that you see every situation I get in as an excuse to use me again!" Alex yelled in exasperation. K Unit stared at him. Jack's face was as red as her hair.

"I will not allow you to use Alex again. I'm sick of you blackmailing him! It stops now." Jack yelled at Blunt. Sabina stared acidly at the grey pair.

Blunt was unfazed, and looked at her coldly. "May I remind you, Miss Starbright, that we are the only reason you have not been deported?"

Jack stared at him in disbelief. "How many times are you going to threaten to send me back to America, just so you can get Alex to do what you want!" She yelled at them. K Unit stared at Blunt coldly, realising he was blackmailing Cub.

"Alex is still hurt! He can't do any missions for you right now." Wolf said in a controlled voice, but his hands were balled into fists.

"Like they care about that." Alex muttered angrily.

"Please, Alex, it is for your safety more than anything else, we just thought it would be best because then K Unit can both guard you and be on the field, and it would be just like a holiday, for most of the day you'll simply be relaxing on the beach, because we know the shipment will go down at night. It will help you recover from your injuries, and keep you active as well." Mrs Jones said in her honeyed tones that Alex had learnt to hate.

"Do I have a choice?" Alex snarled at them bitterly.

Blunt nodded. "Good, you'll stay in a flat here in London for a week with K Unit, give you recovery time just in case you do need to be involved in some kind of action, though like I said, its just a surveillance mission, when the shipment comes in, you can call us, and we'll have a team ready to bring them down, you won't be involved in anything." Blunt said emotionlessly.

Alex stared at him. "Me, and K Unit staying in the one flat?" he said in horror.

Blunt ignored this comment. "Alex, I just have one more question before I leave."

"How can I be of service?" Alex said sarcastically.

"The Scorpia agents we found, they did this to you?" Blunt asked. Alex nodded, raising an eyebrow.

"Like I said, Yassen is on my side." Alex said.

Blunt nodded. "And did he fight the agents with you?"

Alex blinked. "Umm, well, I kind of ran away from Yassen when I got the chance, and I guess he followed me. But I was alone for the first part. Scorpia cornered me in an alley, and I knocked two of them out and…shot one of them in the stomach." Alex looked down, and then met Blunt's eyes. "Did he survive?"

Blunt surveyed him curiously for a moment, before answering. "He's in our care, heavily guarded of course, but the doctors aren't sure if he will survive. The other two are in questioning. But the leader, did Yassen shoot him?

Alex nodded. "His name's Walker, I trained with him when I was on Malagosto." He confirmed, and suddenly felt gratitude towards the assassin, he'd saved his life, again.

Blunt look very interested by this, but asked no further questions. "You will be discharged late tomorrow morning, and the rest of your recovery time will be at the flat. Do not exert yourself in any way. After a few weeks we should be able to come to an understanding with Scorpia, and you can come back to London and life will continue as normal." He said, and turned to leave, without, to no ones surprise, the pleasantry of a goodbye.

Normal, right.

Mrs. Jones smiled sympathetically and followed Blunt out. Alex turned to K Unit, who were looking angry at how Alex was being used but also just as horrified of the prospect of living under one roof as Alex was. They didn't mind each other anymore, but they weren't going to push it, and Alex had a feeling that their relationship, especially between him and Wolf, would be tested to the limits over the next week.

"Cub…" Fox begun, glaring at the door the two heads had left. "I think I see why it wasn't hard to think of assassinating them."

Alex shook his head. "It was just Mrs. Jones."

Fox grinned. "They both look the same to me."

Alex smiled half heartedly back, before casting his eyes glumly too the ceiling.

"Alex…" Jack said softly. "I'm so sorry; this is all my fault…"

Alex's eyes snapped to hers. "Don't you dare blame yourself."

Jack just looked back glumly. "Alex…I don't think I can stand you going on another mission, and they can only make you because of me, maybe…maybe I should just go back to America."

Alex's eyes widened. "NO! Jack, please don't go, you're the only family I have left!" Alex said desperately. Jack looked at him sadly. Suddenly, something occurred to Alex. "Un…unless you, you know, want to go…"

Jack shook her head, holding Alex's hand. "No Alex, I love you, and I love London, but I hate the way they blackmail you into risking your life over and over again, its wrong!"

Sabina was glaring at the wall, having been silent for a while now.

"Sab…? Are you ok." Alex said softly, taking her hand. She turned to him sadly.

"Alex…I, I need to leave…I'll come back…I just, can't be here." She said, standing up.

Alex blinked up at her, keeping the hurt out of his eyes. She squeezed his hand, and let go. Alex stared at his empty hand for a moment before looking up just in time to see the door closing and a flash of long brown hair disappearing behind it. Everyone was silent for a moment, looking at Alex with a mixture of sadness, sympathy or anger at what was happening to him. Alex let his face go blank. "I'm going to get some rest." He said, turning in his loose white shirt and what felt like cotton pyjama pants and let his worries die away with sleep.

***

Alex woke later, though he had no idea what time it was. Only Snake was in the room, arms crossed, surveying Alex blankly as he sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes.

"Where is everyone?" Alex asked curiously.

"Gone to get food. Cub, do you want to tell me what's going on with this?" he said, taking out the piece of paper from his pocket. Alex realised that his bloodied clothes were gone, and he was now in loose pyjama's, much to his slight embarrassment. Still, he was glad he had given the number to Snake, it would either be in MI6s hands or going through the wash by now.

Alex stiffly got out of bed, but still felt no pain. Probably still under pain killers. He walked up to Snake, and took it. Snake frowned at his now empty hand and glared at Alex.

Alex grinned back. "Thanks for that Snake, you didn't tell anyone did you?"

Snake sighed. "We don't keep secrets within our Units, but no, Cub, I didn't. If I'm going to keep a secret for you then tell me what it is."

Alex just smiled, shaking his head. "It's not important, just let it go."

Snake stood up, towering over Alex. Alex took a step back, frowning and lying back down on his bed. Snake followed him, standing just short of his bed. "Cub…"

Just then, Mrs Jones walked into the room, and looked surprised. "Alex, you're awake."

Alex rolled his eyes. "No, I'm still asleep."

Snake smirked, despite his annoyance. Mrs Jones took no notice.

"How are you Alex?"

Alex shrugged. "Still doped up, don't really know. What time is it?"

"Oh, it's around 8.00am in the morning, you went to sleep at around 3.00pm yesterday, so you should be rehabilitated."

Alex nodded, but truthfully he was still really tired.

Mrs Jones shifted uncomfortably. "Listen Alex, I'm very sorry about what happened to you, everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong. And I'm sorry we're sending you on another mission when you're still hurt, but in Blunts eyes it's the perfect opportunity." She said apologetically.

Alex shrugged, eyes cold. "I'm used to you people blackmailing me."

Mrs Jones cleared her throat awkwardly, and Alex, who wouldn't have minded watching her squirm, needed to ask her something.

"Ummm, Mrs. Jones, I'm glad you're here, my best friend Tom is probably really worried about me, I need to call him and fill him in about what's happening. Do you have a secure phone I could borrow to ring him?

She stared at Alex in shock. "You told _another_ person about us!?"

Alex realised his mistake, and it was too late to back track so he just shrugged. "Just between you and me Mrs. Jones."

Mrs. Jones's eyes narrowed, but she let it go, for now. "Yes Alex, you can use my phone, but do not tell him where you are, just in case Scorpia is listening in, though that's near impossible with _this _phone." She said, handing him a plain, black one that had no brand on it…figures.

"Thanks." Alex murmured. Mrs Jones left to give him some privacy.

Alex turned to Snake, who was glaring at him suspiciously.

"That's not to call your friend is it?"

Alex frowned. "What makes you say that? Do you mind stepping out for minute while I'm on the phone?"

Snake's eyes narrowed. "I hope you know what you're doing Cub. Whoever this is, their on our side?"

Alex smiled innocently. "He's just a friend I need to tell I'm ok."

Snake rubbed his eyes tiredly, but left the room, muttering under his breath.

Alex dialled a number. The phone rang twice, before a cool, calm voice answered on the other side of the line.

"Yes?"

Alex smiled to himself. "Still up for bodyguard duty?"

**YAY! Chapter ten is done! I'll get the next one out ASAP (and after I receive a healthy amount of reviews!********) Hoped you liked this chappy! Wow, it was a long one!**

P.S **Sorry if there are grammer mistakes, but trying to read through it over and over was really straining my eyes! so i decided just to post it, cause i've already gone through it once or twice.**

**R&R! Xoxo**

**Bookworm Rider**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chap 11 is here! I am sooooooooooo sorry about how long this chapter has taken, but **_**Insert Excuse Here**_**. See, perfect reasonable! **

**But still, I'm really sorry!**

**Thankyou to all my reviewers, you've been amazing, hope your still there!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider**

_Alex dialled a number. The phone rang twice, before a cool, calm voice answered on the other side of the line._

"_Yes?"_

_Alex smiled to himself. "Still up for bodyguard duty?"_

****

Snake left the room, thoroughly annoyed, closing the door behind him. He was half way down the corridor, planning to meet up with the rest of K Unit, before he ran back and decided to play spy, listening at the door, though he couldn't here much at all.

"…_Looked like it stung."_ Snake heard Alex say. There was a pause, before he heard him speak again.

"_So, what do you say?"_

Snake's eyes widened. Who was he talking to? It couldn't be Yassen Gregorovich, he wouldn't be that stupid. Surely a spy's instincts were better than that? He listened closer, hoping for a clue. He felt guilty, yes, but if something happened to Cub and it had something to do with this person, it would be his fault, not telling anyone about it.

"_MI6…advantage." _Was all Snake caught; there was another moment of silence whilst Alex listened to what the person was saying, but Snake now doubted it was his friend Tom.

"…_on a mission…not sure who's listening…take control of my life, either way I'm not going."_

Everything was so muffled through the thick wooden door, but Snake got the gist of what Alex had just said. Not only was he telling someone about their mission, but he wasn't even planning on going. Snake had no idea what to do, he could tell K Unit, but he didn't want to betray Cub, even though, in a way, he was betraying them. No…that was too harsh, he just didn't want to go on any more missions, and Snake could see why; it was destroying him, inside and out. Snake realised he'd stoped listening and quickly leaned against the door.

"_You said…need to know about my d…"_

Snake hardly heard any of that, and listened with his breath held.

"_Next Tuesday...Snake knows…Hyde Park..."_

Now Snake was really worried. What could he do? Cub was talking about Hyde Park, and the day they were supposed to leave, Tuesday, a week from now, but nothing connected, was Alex going to meet this person? The more Snake heard, the more he felt it was Yassen Gregorovich on the other side of the line. He didn't want to believe it though, Alex running off to the other side, which'd recently kidnapped him…and saved his life. Snake rubbed his eyes, not wanting to listen to more, but none the less pressed his ear to the door once more.

"_Yea, Goodbye to you to."_

It seemed the call was over. He heard the sound of bed springs, and assumed Cub had gone back to bed. His stomach rumbled, but he was suddenly not that hungry. He stood up out of his crouch, and made his way to the canteen.

_What was he going to do?_

***

K Unit and Jack watched the peaceful, sleeping Alex, and Eagle smiled. "He's so cute when he's asleep." He whispered, and everyone turned to stare at him. He looked back defensively. "What! You were all thinking it."

Eagle took another bite of his toast, which he'd gotten form MI6's canteen; surprisingly it had a pretty good breakfast selection. The rest of K Unit were wolfing down their breakfast too, though Jack had just ordered a coffee, saying she wasn't hungry. They'd bought some food back for Snake, who they'd met halfway back to the room. They were surprised to seem him looking both annoyed and distressed about something, but he wouldn't say what. They'd come back to find Cub fast asleep.

Wolf shook his head, right as Fox said. "Actually, I have to agree with Eagle." He chuckled, raising his eyebrows at the rest of the unit.

Wolf sighed, turning to the red head, who was mediating between looking at K Unit with an amused expression and looking at Alex with a soft look on her face.

"Umm, Jack, right?" Wolf began awkwardly. She turned to him, looking faintly surprised, but smiled.

"Yes?" she said.

"Look, can you please explain what's going on? They came in after Alex had nearly died in Scorpia's hands and blackmailed him into a mission that starts in a week! When one of us is hurt that badly in the field, at the very least we get two weeks, sometimes even more than a month with strict bed rest to get through it. The way their treating Cub…it's unthinkable in the SAS." Wolf talked quickly, appalled by the whole situation.

Jack smiled bitterly. "Welcome to MI6."

Snake, who was frowning deeply, shook his head. "Wolf is right! They pay him at least?"

Jack laughed at this. "_Pay him?_ When he called for their help when he was about to be dissected alive, they didn't even come, let alone pay him!" she shook her head.

"You want to know how it goes. MI6 call him, they give him a mission, he refuses, they blackmail him, he goes, he's tortured, beaten, shot at and kidnapped, then he saves the world after escaping, and then he goes back to school, and trust me, it's with no increase to his piggybank, and waits for it to happen all over again."

K Unit stared at her, horrified. Jack sighed, having finally let out some of her pent up emotions.

Fox was the first to recover. "Jack, I'm so sorry, can we do anything for him? It must be illegal, what they're making him do." He said quietly.

Jack took a deep breathe. "I don't know what you could do to help Alex, but if you come up with anything, let me know." She said, looking painfully at Alex, who was breathing peacefully.

"You know, I'm kinda surprised, usually after a mission of some sort his sleeps are…" She trailed off, blinking, and turned away, drinking her coffee.

"His sleeps are what?" pressed Fox, the rest of K Unit looking at her intently.

She shifted uncomfortably, wishing she'd kept her mouth shut for Alex's sake, and shrugged. "Just thinking aloud, don't worry."

They frowned, but said nothing, not wanting to butt in to much, though it was one of their greatest talents when it came to Cub.

Jack frowned. "What time is it?"

Snake looked at his watch. "Ummm, 9:30am, we'll be leaving in an hour or two, maybe we should wake Cub up…"

"No, he needs rest." Said Jack firmly. The rest of K Unit didn't want to argue with this particular housekeeper. There was an awkward silence that settled on the five adults. Wolf cleared his throat, and turned to Jack, smirking slightly.

"So, do you have a boyfriend?" he asked.

Jack turned bright red, but didn't need to answer, as just then Alex yelled, balling his hands up into fists.

Jack closed her eyes. "No." she said with a sigh.

"Just shoot me then!" he growled angrily.

"Alex, wake up." Jack said loudly, shaking him. Alex's eyes snapped open and he thrust out with his right foot, hitting Jack in the stomach. She gasped as she was flung to the floor, and K Unit rushed over to help her. Alex looked around confusedly for a moment, before comprehension dawned on his face and he rushed out of bed, wincing slightly as he helped Jack to her feet.

"Jack…I'm sorry, I didn't…" Alex began but Jack just smiled.

"It's ok Alex, you only winded me, besides you can't help your reflexes, I'm fine." She soothed him, while he stared at her stomach guiltily.

"You ok Cub?" Wolf asked gruffly, looking a bit shocked. Alex seemed to just notice K Unit were there, surveying the scene anxiously. Alex frowned, straightening up.

"I'm not the one you should be asking. If you're ok Jack I'm going to take a shower before we leave." Alex said emotionlessly, walking to the bathroom grabbing a spare change of clothes as he went. Jack nodded, noticing he was covered in sweat, and probably could really use a shower either way.

Snake watched him go, his face white. After what Jack had told them, and witnessing Alex's nightmare, he had to admit, he was horrified. MI6 were destroying him, there was no question about it now. Snake glanced at his team mates, who were looking equally shaken; Wolf looked like he was about to explode, hands balled into fists.

Snake made his decision.

He was going to do absolutely nothing about Cub's phone call.

***

Well, at least it's not a bad apartment.

This was the only good thing Alex could think of as he and the other four members of K Unit walked in an awkward silence, inspecting the small (for security reasons) but cosy flat. Besides, it had a bedroom for each of them, a kitchen and two bathrooms, though it was still pretty cramped, everything squished together.

After Alex had showered and eaten, he had said goodbye (for now) to Jack, and asked her to tell Sabina (who'd never come back much to Alex's dismay) that he was sorry and would miss her. Jack would be staying back at the house with two guards, just in case they tried to get to Alex through her, and two were stationed, though Alex wasn't sure it was to her knowing, outside Sabina's house as well for the same reason.

Mrs. Jones had also seen him to get her phone back, and glanced suspiciously at Alex when she found all recent history erased. Alex had just shrugged. "Can't be too careful, don't want anyone to know who my friends are."

Mrs. Jones had eyed him suspiciously before giving him a brand new phone. "This way you'll be able to contact us, speed dial 1 will put you through to blunt, 2 to me and 3 to Smithers. You can also make normal calls, and if you press 7 four times it will set out a tracking signal to us and we'll know you're in trouble. Be careful." She had said, before leaving him staring at the phone thoughtfully.

Now Alex put the phone in his pocket, looking at the apartment he had to share with the four grumpy K Unit members. There were three rooms, two people staying in each one except for one person who would be alone. Everyone decided to Alex's horror that because he was still hurt he should have someone there to watch over him just in case, and as Unit leader K Unit had graciously assigned Wolf to the job.

"No way," Alex said. "We don't get along."

"Ouch, Cub, that hurts." Wolf said in an 'injured' tone, though he looked equally horrified at sharing a room with not only a teenager but _Cub_.

"Well, none of us will really get along sharing a room anyway, so I think we should all just be happy." Eagle said, grinning.

"Shut your face, Eagle, it's only because you got to be by yourself." Fox said in an acidic tone that didn't belong to the usually calm persona.

Snake laughed. "Bitter, are we Fox?"

"Yea, seeing as how I'm sharing a room with you."

"Hey! Would you rather share it with Eagle and his non-stop chattering? That's why we agreed to let him have it to himself in the first place!"

"Hey!"

"Oh, please will you all just shut up!" Alex groaned, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Couldn't agree more." Wolf growled, grabbing his bag and making his way over to one of the rooms.

"Aww, see, you two will get on fine." Eagle said, almost skipping to his very own room.

Alex suppressed a sigh and followed Wolf with his own bag whilst Snake and Fox made their way to their room. Alex surveyed his room glumly. There were two single beds, a desk and a closet. The only other parts of the apartment were the kitchen/living room and a bathroom. At least they had a TV in the kitchen. Alex dumped his stuff on the floor, not bothering to unpack the small suitcase and took out his homework, now that his was missing school _again_. He walked to the kitchen, leaving Wolf to do what he wanted and sat at the kitchen table, trying to get a start on algebra. It was about 4:00pm, and he wondered absently what they were going to eat for dinner. But still his mind wondered to his phone call with Yassen.

**Flashback**

Alex dialled a number. The phone rang twice, before a cool, calm voice answered on the other side of the line.

"Yes?"

Alex smiled to himself. "Still up for bodyguard duty?"

There was a pause on the other side of the line before Yassen answered.

"Alex. How are you?"

'Dunno, MI6 seem keen to turn me into a drug addict. Can't feel a thing."

"I see."

There was another pause, before Alex decided he'd better get the conversation going.

"Sorry about the whole getting shot thing, looked like it stung."

The Yassen laughed quietly. "Believe me Alex, I've had much worse."

"So, what do you say?"

The man knew what he was talking about. "Are the SAS not sufficient anymore?"

Alex sighed. "They can protect me just fine, but MI6 have decided to twist it to their advantage."

Yassen didn't sound surprised. "Another assignment?"

Alex grimaced. "Their sending me on a mission with the SAS, I'm not sure whose listening so I won't say where but I'm sick of this. I think it's about time I take control of my life, either way I'm not going."

There was another pause. "When are you meant to leave?"

"In a week; I'll be staying in a unit with the SAS until then, then we're flying out. You said you'd train me, and I need to know about my dad."

"Where and when do you want to meet me then?"

Alex was surprised; it seemed he'd already thought it through. "Umm, well it's Wednesday, and we're leaving next Tuesday, so how bought on the Monday. Snake knows about the number, someone had to hold it for me and he's really suspicious about it, so I don't want to make him more nervous."

Yassen seemed to be thinking it through. "Alright, where?"

"Umm, how 'bout Hyde Park, 7:00pm Monday night?"

"How secure is this line?"

Alex had thought about this. "It's Mrs. Jones's phone, so pretty secure to outsiders, but to MI6…"

Yassen sighed. "That complicates matters. I'm afraid we'll have to take our chances."

The phone went dead.

"Yea, goodbye to you to." Alex sighed, before hanging up the phone himself.

***

**End of Flashback**

Alex was brought out of his daydream when someone sat beside him. Snake smiled slightly at him, but his eyes were troubled.

"Alex, I thought maybe we should talk about what happened at the hospital." Snake began uncertainly.

Alex frowned reluctantly. "What?'

"I'm not talking about the phone number at the moment, but believe me I'm not finished with that…but, the nightmare, Jack said it happens a lot…

Alex's eyes narrowed. "Oh she did, did she?"

"I just wondered if we could help, if you wanted to talk about what happened with those Scorpia members…" Snake began.

"Well I don't. I'm fine."

Alex turned purposely back to his homework, frowning at the maths problem in 'concentration' hoping he would leave.

No such luck.

"Cub…" Snake began, looking uncomfortable. "I really think…"

"Look, you caught me, I had a nightmare, surprise - surprise, just let it go." Alex snapped.

Snake frowned. "You're part of our unit, and you're just a kid. I'm only trying to help."

Alex sighed, not looking at him. "I don't need anyone's help."

Snake was silent for a moment before he left to sit on the couch, turning on the TV and watching a football game. The rest of K Unit eventually joined him, uncharacteristically not bothering Alex as he did his homework. Alex sighed, he had a feeling Snake was allocated the job of talking to him, and would question Snake about it later.

A few hours later, Alex finally finished his homework (with no more unwanted interruptions) when K Unit trudged into the kitchen.

"Cuuuuubbbb?" Eagle sang when Alex didn't look up from the book he was reading.

Alex sighed, putting the book down whilst the rest of K Unit were sat down at the table, looking like they were planning some kind of ferocious battle. Alex raised his eyebrows crossing his arms across his chest.

"Why so serious?" Alex smirked, quoting the Joker from that Dark Knight movie. Fox rolled his eyes, but was frowning in concentration.

"We're trying to decide what to have for dinner." He said, raising an eyebrow.

Alex laughed. "Is that it, I thought you were about to tell me Scorpia had found us and that we had to plan battle strategies!" Alex laughed again, shaking his head.

K Unit frowned at him. "Well, have you got any ideas?" Snake said.

Now Alex frowned, before smirking. "Anything but pizza." He laughed at his own joke, before realising that K Unit were look at him curiously.

"What's wrong with pizza?" Wolf said, eye's narrowing.

Alex quickly backtracked. "Umm, nothing, you know we could make something…"

K Unit glared at him. "No way Alex, I like a good joke, do tell." Eagle pressed, raising his eyebrows.

Alex sighed, it was his own fault for not keeping his mouth shot. "Well, the last time I saw pizza it was in the hand of an assassin, who was using it as a ploy to get to his target on one of the floors of an apartment block. Oh, and the assassin was me." Alex said lightly, with a small shrug. He winced as it hurt his stitched up shoulder, and was glad he was allowed to take pain killers. Yet he forgot the pain when he saw the look on K Unit's face.

"So that's how you got to Mrs Jones! I was wondering, you know, she must have had good security." Snake said in wonder, almost looking proud of Cub.

Fox shook his head. "You really are a character, you know that Cub."

Alex grinned, hiding his relief that they weren't totally freaked out by his ex-assassin status.

Wolf just shook his head. "I know one thing, considering you now have Scorpia after you, the situation is reversed. An assassin is looking for you, and you are in a flat. No pizza, or takeout at all for the matter."

Everyone groaned. "Who's going to cook then?" Snake said, raising an eyebrow.

"Anything but Italian food, it seems it comes with a bit of bad luck." Eagle said (whose bruise still looked pretty nasty) raising an eyebrow at Alex, who grinned back.

"What do you mean?" Fox said, confused.

Alex explained. "Well, first the pizza, and the night I was kidnapped me and Eagle were having Spaghetti Bolognaise." Alex laughed, though the rest of K Unit didn't find it funny.

"Well, what should we cook then?" Wolf said, frowning in concentration.

Everyone was silent as they thought, before Alex said; "Chicken Italian, anyone?"

K Unit groaned at his sense of humour, probably disappointed that he didn't actually have a suggestion.

"How bought chicken curry?" Fox suggested, and no one having any objections, they all stood up and walked to the kitchen.

"Err, who's going to cook?" Snake said uncertainly, and for some reason everyone turned to Alex.

Alex raised his eyebrows at them. "Don't look at me! Maybe it isn't Italian food, maybe it's anything that I come into contact with." Alex said desperately, as he didn't exactly enjoy cooking.

Eagle sighed. "From what I got to taste before an assassin knocked me out, your cooking is good Cub, come on, do you really want to eat anything made by us?" Eagle reasoned, gesturing to his team mates.

Alex shook his head. They must be the only people in the world to ever have a conversation like this. He sighed in defeat, and was glad that MI6 had stocked the place up with food. As an answer, he started defrosting some chicken breast and took carrot and potato out of the fridge. K Unit grinned, and started making their way to the couch to watch TV when Alex added casually.

"You know, I am a former assassin, are you sure you guys can trust me to not put any…extra ingredients into your dinners." He turned towards K Unit, who to his satisfaction were looking slightly nervous.

"I mean, after the way you guys treated me at SAS training, there's motive, isn't there?" He raised an eyebrow at them. They now looked more than nervous, and Alex couldn't help it. He burst out laughing, clutching the counter for support, while K Unit glared at him angrily. That just made him laugh more and he completely doubled over in laughter. Ugh, maybe he should lay off the pain killers for a while.

After a moment though he began to feel dizzy, and stopped laughing. He felt like he was about to throw up. Going pale, Alex collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach, blood soaking through his shirt. K Unit exclaimed in surprise, running to the young spy.

"What's happening?!" Wolf yelled, scanning the area for snipers who may have shot him. Snake ripped his shirt open with a kitchen knife and caught his breath.

"His stiches have opened up, his stomach knife wound is bleeding, Eagle, get my first aid kit from my room; Hurry!"

Without a word Eagle ran out of the room only to return a moment later cradling a kit in his hand. Snake took it and got out a needle and thread, and quickly started stitching his stomach back up. "Wolf, go get him a new set of clothes."

Wolf turned and went towards Alex's room, whilst Eagle knelt cautiously at Cub's side.

"Don't worry Eagle, I think it was just blood loss, and shock too of course. I think the last couple of days are finally catching up with him; he was kidnapped, stabbed, beaten and almost died, and shown no sympathy from his employers. I'm actually surprised nothing has happened before now. He'll come to in about an hour."

Eagle nodded, but Fox frowned. "What can I do?"

Snake glanced sideways at him, before grinning.

"You can get a start on dinner."

***

Alex was first aware of people talking, and the cluttering of plates, before he felt the stabbing pain in his stomach, but suppressed a groan, trying to figure out what the bloody heck had happened.

"Fox! You have a big family, didn't they ever teach you how to cook!" Alex heard Eagle groan.

"Yea, I mean, isn't curry meant to be a little more…I don't know, NOT clumped together in a mass of rice and chicken?"

"Hey! I didn't ask to make dinner, I was appointed the job, it's no ones fault but yours!"

"I had to treat Cub!"

"Yea, that took about ten minutes, and what did you do then!"

"Monitor him!"

"Right."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, shut up you two!" Wolf growled at Snake and Fox.

"I concur." Alex said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. Everyone fell silent, and Alex looked up too see them huddled around a large pot in the kitchen. Alex noted with slight annoyance that he was on the floor…at least they'd given him a pillow.

"Cub, you right?" Snake said, kneeling down beside the boy whilst the rest huddled somewhere close by.

"Oh brilliant," Alex said sarcastically, clutching his throbbing stomach, "What happened to me?"

Snake sighed. "Your stitches in your stomach opened up when you were laughing, you're meant to be taking an easy, not threatening to poison us." Snake said, grinning at Alex, who did not return it. Without another word to the concerned unit, he walked over to the pot and grimaced.

"Fox, really!"

"SORRY!"

Alex sighed. What was meant to be a curry was a clumpy, but at least cooked, mess in the pan, but there was no moisture left in it.

"It's ok Snake, I think I can save it." Alex said, grinning at the confused K Unit, who hadn't thought of any way to salvage the operation. They watched as Alex opened the fridge and took out cream and water, adding a bit of both to the mix before searching through the cupboard and finding what he wanted, added coconut milk. He stirred the curry around, and put the heat up until it boiled, turned it off and put the now appetizing mixture into five bowls. He took his own and without a word to the dumbstruck K Unit, walked over to couch and watched some team score another goal. A few minuets later K Unit joined with there bowls, looking delighted.

"Cub, this is delicious!!!!!" Eagle yelped, almost inhaling his food, a rather disgusting sight. The rest of K Unit grunted in agreement.

Alex shrugged, just glad they were too busy eating to play 'twenty questions' with him again.

"So, Cub, tell us about your missions." Eagle said, his mouth full. Alex suppressed a groan. Who said men can't multitask?

"Yea, Cub, what about your very first mission, that must've been interesting." Fox said, though he bothered to swallow before talking.

Alex sighed; glad he'd finished his dinner so quickly. "I'm going to bed, I'm actually pretty tired." He said quickly, rushing into the kitchen.

"Cub! You won't be able to avoid our questions forever!" Eagle yelled, followed by an evil 'bwwhahahahaha!"

Alex rolled his eyes, washing his plate before retreating to his room and shutting the door behind him.

______

Snake watched him leave, before standing up and following him out, K Unit engrossed in the game.

"Snake?"

Maybe not. Snake turned around to Wolf, who had a strange expression on his face. "Are you…um…you know, ok?" He said, seeming to struggle with the words.

Snake forced a smile, though really, his decision to leave Cub alone had wavered…he wanted to trust Alex to know what he was doing, but really, who knows what would happen to him if he left the apartment, would Scorpia find him? He decided he needed to talk to Cub about it.

"I'm fine."

Snake turned to leave, but Wolf wouldn't let it go that quickly. "You've looked troubled all day, is there something you need to tell us?" Wolf asked uncertainly, Eagle and Fox watching the conversation curiously. They too had noticed Snake's strange mood.

Snake stared at them for a moment…could he tell them, then they could all discuss it, figure out what to do. But he'd promised Cub, he couldn't, not without at least talking to him first.

"I'm fine." Snake said again, doing a 'cub' and more or less ignoring the questions.

"Well, fine, so did you talk to Cub?" Fox asked curiously.

"He doesn't want to talk up what happened at the hospital, and we'd better not push it, I don't think he will." Snake explained.

Wolf sighed. "Didn't think he would."

Snake nodded and escaped the kitchen, dumping his half eaten food into the sink before making his way over to Cub's room. He stopped at the door uncertainly, before knocking. He heard Alex sigh, before the inevitable, "Yea, come in."

Snake walked into the room to find Alex lying on his bed with a book in his hand, though he didn't seem to have much interest in it, as he threw it on the ground with a slight look of relief, but also looking reluctant as Snake approached the bed.

"Snake, what do you want?" The words were not unfriendly, just tired, as if he didn't want to have the following conversation.

Snake sighed, sitting down on the end of the bed, surveying the bruised and beaten boy grimly. "Cub…I just…want to know that you know what you're doing."

Alex looked taken aback by the question, before he blinked and his lips twitched slightly. "Yea, I do."

Snake sighed again, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Then why are you going to Hyde Park?"

Alex froze, gaping at Snake, who looked back blankly. "I don't know what you're talking about Snake, a picnic is not in my current agenda." Alex said smoothly. Snake had to admit, he was a good liar, of course, Cub had to be.

Snake shook his head. "I heard you talking on the phone, I didn't hear much but you said Hyde Park, and that you weren't going on the mission."

Cub stared at Snake, his face white, before his eyes flashed in anger. "I don't know who you think you are, eavesdropping on my conversations, but it's none of your business what I'm doing, and anyway, you've got it all wrong…why wouldn't I be going on the mission, I wasn't given much choice!" Alex snarled, standing up off the bed, his hands balled into fists. Snake winced, standing up too, facing the angry teenager.

"Alex, listen to me, I'm sorry I listened in, ok, but it's a bit hypocritical, don't you think, seeing as you do it for a living." Snake said to the spy. "I've been lying for you Alex, and I deserve to know why!" Snake found himself yelling back.

Alex stared at Snake, his shoulders slumping, surveying the usually calm member of K Unit with a slightly shocked expression. "Snake…I'm….I didn't mean to…"

But he didn't get time to finish his sentence, as the rest of K Unit walked into the room.

"What's with all the yelling! And what do you mean Snake, you've been lying?" Wolf said, raising his eyebrows at Snake coldly. Snake winced, and looked at Alex, whose face had gone pale.

Wolf turned his icy glare to Alex.

"Cub, I think you have some explaining to do."

***

Alan Blunt watched the tape again, his face expressionless, whilst his deputy watched it with a slight crease on her forehead.

"What does this mean Alan?" She said after he'd watched it for a third time, as if he could discover more from watching it again. The two head of MI6 watched as Alex Rider talked on the phone, a video taken from the camera in his hospital room, still in his pyjamas. Much to their disappointment, the video had no sound, and Alex had his back turned away from the camera, so they couldn't get anyone in to read his lips.

Blunt paused the tape. "It doesn't mean anything, we don't know who he was talking to, but I doubt what he told you was true, that wasn't his friend…Tom, was it, though we can send people to the boy to find out for sure. But his body language suggested it wasn't the most comfortable conversation."

"Do you think it was…"

"Yassen Gregorovich is problematic, and I won't rule out the possibility. But I think I know someone who can tell us for sure." Blunt switched CDs and put a new one in, and Mrs Jones raised her eyebrows in surprise when she saw the K Unit member Snake listening at the door to Alex's room.

"It seems he's being picking up tips from Alex." She said, watching as the man's face widened in shock and he jerked his head away from the door, before putting his ear back to it again.

"Yes, he will be able to tell us Alex has been doing. I think we should pay Alex a visit at his hideout before they leave on the mission." Blunt said, his voice suggesting at least a little satisfaction.

"Alan, I stand by what I said, you shouldn't use Alex right now, if ever, he's been through enough."

"It's the perfect opportunity, we're hiding him away from Scorpia, we're simply using the situation to our advantage."

"No, you're using Alex to our advantage."

***

Yassen walked steadily through the lobby, scanning the area thoroughly before making his way to the stairs. The elevator wasn't safe with both MI6 and Scorpia after him. He shook his head; what a mess, but nothing unusual.

"Mr. San, so good to see you again…oh, are you alright?" The receptionists eye's widened as she saw his bloody shirt.

"Yes, I'm fine, I just got mugged, that's all." Yassen made up the excuse quickly without stopping.

"Wait!" The receptionist ran from behind the desk and over to Yassen, inspecting the arm (but from a metre away, she got the feeling this was a man who liked his personal space) "Shouldn't we call the police?" she said anxiously.

Yassen couldn't help but remember what Alex had said as he impatiently listened to the woman's concerned rambling and smiled ever so slightly. "_I think she likes you."_

"That won't be necessary. I've dealt with them." He said, making the woman looking quite startled.

"They're safely behind bars." Yassen lied, as she seemed to need further explanation.

"Oh."

Yassen stepped around her and cautiously inspected the staircase before making his way up leaving the receptionist behind. He'd have to be extra careful from then on, but then again, he was always careful. He definitely wouldn't stay in his flat long, he would just patch himself up, grab the essentials (aka. His guns, though he'd taken the one Alex had stolen off the floor of the alley, he should never go with just one). Still, he couldn't help but think that getting involved with Alex again wasn't a good idea. He hadn't exactly been much help, and really he was finding it hard to control a four-teen year old spy with something other than a gun. He was good at his job, but to say the least it was a good thing he hadn't had children.

And their meeting place was problematic, Monday night in Hyde Park. A phone was too insecure, even if Scorpia hadn't been able to tap into the deputy of MI6's phone, Mr. Blunt could have been listening, and what about camera's? Yassen shook his head, it was too risky; he would have to pay Alex a little visit…again.

**Not really a cliffy, sorry about how long this has taken, I'll have the next one out soon, Yassen will be seen more in the next chapter, what will he be doing??? (evil grin)**

**I've got so many great ideas for this story, I've planned heaps of it out, and even have a sequel in mind. Thankyou to everyone who's still following the story, any suggestions would still be great.**

**Thank you SO much for all previous reviews!**

**Merci****á****mes**** critiques ****Français****!**

**Bookworm Rider xx**


	12. CHAP 12 COMING!

Hi guys

CHAPTER 12 IS COMING!!!! Please read the rest of this note

I know the amount of time I've taken on the chap 12 is completely unforgivable, and one of my reviewers said they'd kill me if I didn't update soon, so I'm suddenly glad you guys don't know where I live

AND having an authors note thing instead of chapter 12 is even worse, I am extremely repentant!!!!!!!

BUT I can promise that the next chapter will be out in the next week!!!!! I finish my last exam tomorrow, and I will make it my one and only goal to give you a really long, exciting chapter, with yassen yassen yassen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bookworm rider 


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider**

**Chapter 12 is finally here! Sorrrrrrrrryyyy, it has taken way to long, but my first day of holidays started today, and I, or course, went straight to editing the chapter. **

**Without further rambling, here it is!**

"_I've been lying for you Alex, and I deserve to know why!" Snake found himself yelling back._

_Alex stared at Snake, his shoulders slumping, surveying the usually calm member of K Unit with a slightly shocked expression. "Snake…I'm….I didn't mean to…"_

_But he didn't get time to finish his sentence, as the rest of K Unit walked into the room._

"_What's with all the yelling?! And what do you mean Snake, you've been lying?" Wolf said, raising his eyebrows at Snake coldly. Snake winced, and looked at Alex, whose face had gone pale._

_Wolf turned his icy glare to Alex._

"_Cub, I think you have some explaining to do."_

***

Yassen watched to car far in front of him very carefully. There were two very important people in there, who were going to lead him straight to Alex. He knew Hyde Park wasn't secure. Somehow, the Head of MI6 knew Alex was up to something they didn't want, and it was enough for Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones to pay them a personal visit.

***

Alex bit his lip, thinking hard. K Unit knew he was deciding then and there wether or not to tell them the truth. Snake looked apologetic, but just as curious as the rest of them. Well, they looked more suspicious than curious. Wolf just looked angry. Alex let his face go blank, crossing his arms.

"Snake, as you said, there are no secrets within the unit. Tell them what you know." Alex said emotionlessly, decided, or resigned. Snake looked at him in shock, and Alex nodded once in encouragement. K Unit looked at him expectedly.

Snake took a breath. "Well…when we found Alex in the alley, and you three followed Yassen, Alex gave me a number, telling me it was important to show no one." Snake paused, looking at Alex, whose expression hadn't changed, though his body was tensed.

"Get on with it Snake, stop worrying about Cub." Wolf growled, giving Alex an icy glare. Alex raised his eyebrows in response.

Snake cleared his throat. "Well, he used a secure line to call the number, and I…" he coughed, "umm, listened at the door," he said, shamefaced. "I didn't hear much, but it sounds like he's meeting someone in Hyde Park on Tuesday, and that he wasn't going on the mission," Snake cast Alex one last glance. "I think he was talking about Yassen Gregorovich."

There was silence that followed Snake's confession. Alex's eyes were surveying each member of K Unit closely, as was Snake. Wolf looked like he was about to explode, and no doubt it would happen any second. Eagle was frowning at the ground, probably trying to process it all, whilst Fox stared at Alex with cold eyes, unusual for him, and made Alex feel worse than anything Wolf could scream. But Wolf surprised him. Although his face was red, his jaw clenched, he spoke in a level voice.

"Alright Cub, how much of this is true, and what else haven't you told us." He said, his voice ringing with authority. The rest of K Unit looked at him in surprise, just as shocked as Alex was that there was no explosion.

Alex let his face fall back into its mask, and shrugged. "It's all true." What none of them were expecting was Fox's reaction.

"CUB, WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU THINKING! Are you that stupid! Running off with an assassin that murdered you uncle, _murdered_, Cub! Do you think he's good because he didn't kill you, is that the only thing you're going on. _Oh, thanks Yassen, for not killing me._ He could change his mind at any time Cub!"

Alex's mask slipped away. His resolve didn't change, Fox didn't understand why he was doing this, but he was horrified at making the usually calm teammate this angry. Alex stared at Fox, eyes wide, and Fox stared coldly back. Wolf was expected, he could handle that easily, but this was Fox. The rest of K Unit looked shocked, but didn't contradict him.

"Fox is right Cub," Eagle said levelly, thankfully, Alex thought, not yelling, "You have good instincts, and you're a great spy, but you are still just a kid…teenager, I mean," he amended under Alex's glare, "if he murdered his best friends brother, he can do the same to his son."

Snake cleared his throat. "Alex, I'm still confused, do you think he can protect you better than us, why would you risk going with him, it's…it doesn't make sense." He said.

Alex sighed. "I don't want another mission, not now, at least, I've had five in one year, and it's taking its affect, not only on me. Anyway, he said he'd train me, and tell me about my dad." Alex smiled in spite of himself. Fox frowned at the floor.

Alex turned to Wolf, jaw set. "And you?"

Wolf stared at him for a moment, his face unreadable. "Alex…I don't think your just a kid, not anymore. But adults make mistakes to. You have no idea how many people he's killed. If you want to get out of this apartment, it's over four, dead K Unit bodies.

"That could be arranged," said a cold voice at the door. K Unit swung around, hands going for their guns, until they saw the emotionless, despite the situation, Mrs. Jones at gunpoint. Alex's face froze in surprise, before raising his eyebrows at Yassen. Yassen didn't respond, except a small twitch of his lips.

"You know the drill." He said, nodding his head to the back wall. K Unit stood frozen, hands twitching towards their guns.

"Alex." Said Fox in a cold voice. "Did you set us up?"

For this first time, chagrin washed across Alex's features. "No…I wanted to meet at the park, really, I wouldn't put you guys in danger…" he began.

"You said you wouldn't go back to Scorpia Cub." Eagle said emotionlessly.

Alex swallowed hard. He never wanted to disappoint K Unit like this, annoy the crap out of them yes, but not seem like a traitor. "I'm not betraying you. I didn't choose for it to happen this way. I'm just switching body guards, that's all." He said desperately.

"Wall." Yassen said again, a slight frown on his face. K Unit turned, walking towards the wall, none of them looking at Alex except Snake, who met his gave sadly, wether from disappointment at Alex or that K Unit didn't understand. Alex hoped it was the later.

Alex turned back to Yassen, who motioned him out. Alex looked at Mrs. Jones. "We came because we thought this might happen." Mrs Jones said with a sigh. "We'll sort this out with Scorpia. I understand why you're doing this Alex, and when the danger is gone, you can return to your normal life, as normal as it ever was anyway." She said with a slight guilty smile. "It's not like last time; you're not committing a crime, exactly, just escaping." She finished sadly. Alex was suddenly extremely grateful to her, more grateful than he had ever been. Then something occurred to him.

"_We_ thought this would happen. Who else is here?" Alex wondered what Yassen could have done to them. But Mrs. Jones didn't look too concerned, even at gunpoint. "Mr Blunt came with me, he's knocked out. Gregorovich," she said the name with hate "snuck up on us, knocked him out. We wanted to question Snake about your phone call. It seems we now know what it's about."

Alex nodded, and walked quickly out the door. Yassen turned to him, gun still on Mrs Jones. "When I say run…" he said. Alex nodded, and Yassen threw Mrs Jones into the arms of K Unit on the opposite wall. Alex didn't need a queue. He began sprinting through the apartment to the already open door, and was grateful they were on the second floor, sprinting down the stairs and into the car park with Yassen close at his heals. Yassen ran into a closely parked car, and Alex threw himself into the front seat, just as K Unit burst into the car park. Yassen quickly began to speed away, but Alex didn't hear any gun shots. Despite everything, they didn't want to put his life in danger.

Yassen and Alex sat in silence for half and hour, silence surrounding them except for the humming of the car. "Are you ready Alex?" Yassen finally said quietly, breaking the silence. Alex wasn't sure for what exactly, but he smiled ever so slightly.

"I'm ready."

**It wasn't as long as I promised, but the next one will be out much quicker, now that I'm on holidays. Hoped you liked the chapter, it was a pretty hard one to write, and I hope you guys didn't think K Units reactions were too far off their character, although to be fair we don't really hear much of their characters in the books, but your reviews would really help.**

**OMG next Alex Rider book is finally out, I know what I'm doing these holidays, haha**

**Xoxo**

**Bookworm Rider**


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